15 April - 30 August 2009 Organized to coincide with the centenary of Henri Cartier-Bresson's birth, this exhibition provides an opportunity to see the 320 works that form part of the Maison Européenne de la Photographie collection. These two large sets of images are the result of several years' work on the photographer's archives followed by two exhibitions: "Paris à vue d'œil" at the Musée Carnavalet in 1984, and "Des Européens" at the MEP in 1977. Embodying as they do the famous 'decisive instant', these images reflect the career of a man who wanted to 'put the head, the eye and the heart in the same line of sight'. Exhibition organized in collaboration with the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson and in partnership with le Parisien and France Culture.

24 June - 11 October 2009 The first ever retrospective in France of Ferdinando Scianna's work, this exhibition includes over 100 prints taken from several series produced from the 1960s onwards. These pictures have appeared in many books, such as Feste religiosi in Sicilia, Marpessa, Dormire, les Siciliens and Mondo Bambino. A former student of literature and philosophy, Ferdinando Scianna is particularly interested in books. They form the natural and preferred medium for displaying his photographs, to which he likes to add accompanying text from writer friends. In 1963 he met the author Leonardo Sciascia, and they worked together on a number of publications. A member of the Magnum Photos agency, Ferdinando Scianna works in reportage, fashion and advertising photography.

24 June - 30 August 2009 Suggested by Agarttha Arte, this exhibition is part of the project "Piémont : une définition" based on commissions from major photographers. Following on from Alain Fleischer in 2007 and William Klein in 2008, Gabriele Basilico has been given carte blanche to produce an artistic work. Trained as an architect, famous for his work on cities and industrial landscapes, he has recorded the transformation and renovation of the Carignano Theatre in Turin. By recording the restoration as it progresses, Gabriele Basilico offers a new "geography" of this fascinating place. Exhibition and catalogue produced with support from the Piedmont Regional Council, the CRT Foundation, Compagnia di San Paolo, UniCredit Group, Pba S.pA. and Bentley S.o.A S.p.A.

24 June - 30 August 2009 Claude Lévêque's works refer to popular culture, the everyday environment and mental images. He creates atmospheres, environments and objects while enhancing the dimension of each installation by using the sensorial effects of light and sound. Playing with the ability of his works to arouse emotions, he turns our habitual perceptions upside-down, reactivating the cultural references he needs for his art. The installation Le Crépuscule du Jaguar, acquired by the Maison Européenne de la Photographie for its video collection in 2009, is a perfect illustration of his world. A major figure on the French and international art scene, Claude Lévêque is representing France at the 53th Venice Biennale with an installation entitled Le Grand Soir.

24 June - 30 August 2009 "A New Sentimental Journey" is the title of the philosophical text, conceived in the form of a diary, that Alair Gomes wrote in English after visiting Europe in 1983. More than 700 photos illustrate the journey. The photos speak of his transcendental vision of the divine, the basis for which resides in Eros -the young male's body, God's supreme creation. The male's body is an idée fixe pervading the author's subject matter- his aesthetic, religion and ethos. The curator of the exhibition, the artist and photographer Miguel do Rio Branco, selecting from the whole collection, has created a coherent series of images. Here exhibited to the public for the first time, this series of photos shows, in perfect accordance with the overall production, a new facet of the art of Alair Gomes, who died in 1992.

24 June - 30 August 2009 Begun in the 1980s, The MEP collection includes almost 20,000 works. Representative of international photography from 1950 to the present, it covers all photographic styles and techniques, and has recently embraced video art. The works are chosen by an acquisitions committee made up of eminent personalities. Outside partner institutions, such as the Fondation Neuflize Vie and the Association des Amis de la MEP, also contribute greatly to the enrichment of the collection. This presentation of a small selection of recent acquisitions is an opportunity for the MEP to share its artistic commitments with the general public and showcase some of its favourite works.