François Cheval (1954) studied history and ethnology. He has been a museum curator since 1982, in Jura and la Réunion. From 1996 to 2016, he was the director of Nicéphore Niépce Museum in Chalon-sur-Saône. In this role, his practice aimed to separate the photographic image from any presumption and present the “originality” of photography through a renewed discourse and museography. He has organized many restrospective exhibitions but at the same time, created spaces for young photographers and their research projects. Besides the museum work, he has been curator of numerous exhibitions in MuCEM for Marseille-Provence 2013, Popular Pavilion of Montpellier, PhotoEspaña, Kyotographie and Les Rencontres d’Arles. He has also been artistic director for various prizes and residency programs. François Cheval is co-founder and co-director of the new Lianzhou Museum for Photography, first museum for photography in China. In 2016, together with Audrey Hoareau, he founded « The Red Eye », an independent structure for photographic projects which will be in change of the artistic direction for « Circulation(s) « festival.