Diaphane

What Diaphane does

Diaphane is a French non-profit photography center (association loi 1901) founded in 1991 and headquartered in Clermont-de-l'Oise in the Hauts-de-France region. It organizes, presents, and promotes contemporary photography across rural and urban territories of the former Picardie and broader Hauts-de-France region through a portfolio of recurring programs: Les Photaumnales, an annual photography festival running since 2004 across Beauvais and multiple communes; Usimages, a biennial of industrial heritage photography co-organized with Agglomération Creil Sud Oise since 2015; artist residencies that anchor the curatorial pipeline; Diaphane Éditions, a publishing house active since 2008; and educational and mediation initiatives including 'La photo bat la campagne'. The organization serves a heterogeneous audience — the general public accessing free outdoor exhibitions, photographers and visual artists using residencies and publication channels, schools participating in image-education programs, and international cultural partners exchanging programming across Brazil, Lithuania, Quebec, and Hong Kong.

The organization's operating model is event-driven and territorially nomadic: exhibitions are staged in outdoor public spaces, village streets, partner venues (Le Quadrilatère in Beauvais, MUDO, CRP Nord-Pas-de-Calais), and Maison Diaphane, which combines the headquarters, a resource center, and an exhibition space dedicated to young photographers. Revenue is overwhelmingly from public institutional sources — the French Ministry of Culture (DRAC Hauts-de-France), the Hauts-de-France regional council, and local government bodies — with most programming offered free to the public. The organization holds the 'Centre d'art contemporain d'intérêt national' label awarded by the Ministry of Culture in April 2022, confirming its status as a national-interest contemporary art center. There is no proprietary technology platform; the operating stack consists of a website, social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram), and a publishing e-commerce storefront.

Diaphane's commercial position is that of a mature cultural association rather than a growth-stage enterprise: it does not pursue venture funding, M&A, or commercial scale, and its small core team of approximately eight staff delivers a multi-program portfolio through partnerships with regional councils, international cultural institutions, and a network of photography centers (Cercle Hippolyte Bayard, Réseau Diagonal). The competitive moat rests on its territorial distribution network, two decades of festival programming, the CACIN regulatory designation, and dense international curatorial partnerships rather than on technology or proprietary assets.

Name

Diaphane

Legal name

DIAPHANE

Website

https://diaphane.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Diaphane is a French non-profit photography center founded in 1991, based in Clermont-de-l'Oise, organizing the annual Photaumnales festival, the Usimages biennial, artist residencies, educational programs, and photography book publishing across the Hauts-de-France region and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint-clément-de-la-place

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Public Funding & Grants: Diaphane receives support from the French Ministry of Culture (DRAC), regional councils, and local governments for organizing festivals, exhibitions, and educational programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Diaphane is a non-profit photography center based in Clermont-de-l'Oise, France, that organizes contemporary photography exhibitions, festivals, biennials, artist residencies, and educational programs across the Hauts-de-France region. It produces the annual Photaumnales festival (since 2004) and the Usimages biennial (since 2015), and runs Diaphane Éditions, its photography book publishing house established in 2008.

Product overview

Diaphane is a photographic center in Hauts-de-France operating as a platform of interconnected services centered on photography creation and diffusion. The core offering includes Les Photaumnales (annual festival), Usimages (biennial industrial photography event), and Diaphane Éditions (publishing house). Artist residencies form the foundation of all activities, while La photo bat la campagne provides territorial educational outreach. The Maison Diaphane in Clermont-de-l'Oise serves as the main physical hub with exhibition spaces and a resource center.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Les Photaumnales: Annual photography festival organized in Beauvais and Hauts-de-France since 2004
• Usimages
• Diaphane Éditions

Products and services

• Les Photaumnales Annual photography festival organized in Beauvais and Hauts-de-France since 2004, featuring exhibitions across the former Picardie region with themes exploring photography's relationship to contemporary society. The 23rd edition in 2026 features 40 outdoor exhibitions across Hauts-de-France communes.
• Usimages Biennial of industrial heritage photography organized since 2015 in partnership with Agglomération Creil Sud Oise, featuring approximately 15 exhibitions of contemporary photographers and archives across the ACSO territory (11 communes).
• Diaphane Éditions Publishing house established in 2008 to disseminate photographic work in book format, continuing the diffusion efforts of the photographic center. Books are available through diaphane-editions.com.
• Résidences de création Artist residency programs providing creation support and production stays for photographers, forming the foundation of Diaphane's programming with partnerships across territories including Franco-Québec cross-residencies with Rencontres internationales de la photographie en Gaspésie since 2015.
• La photo bat la campagne
• Maison Diaphane
• Pôle ressources

Quantifiable outcome

• 40 outdoor exhibitions in 20th anniversary edition of Photaumnales
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Foto em Pauta (Brazil)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership for Photaumnales Brasil 2025, with French artists exhibited in Minas Gerais region in exchange for Brazilian photography showcases in France during Saison France-Brasil
• Kaunas Photo Festival (Lithuania)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing international partnership for photographer exchanges and joint programming, including Lithuanian photography exhibitions at Photaumnales and collaboration on the Lithuanian Season in France 2024
• Médiathèque du patrimoine et de la photographie (MPP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Photaumnales 2026, with MPP opening its collections to exhibit 25 major names in photography history across Hauts-de-France communes
• Institut FrançaiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstitutional partner for international cultural seasons, including Saison France-Brasil 2025 labeling and international programming support
• Agglomération Creil Sud OisecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizer of Usimages biennale since 2015, providing industrial photography programming across 11 communes in the ACSO territory
• Centre Régional de la Photographie Nord-Pas-de-Calais (CRP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHistorical partnership between Picardie's Diaphane and the CRP created in 1982, joint exhibitions and territorial cultural initiatives following regional fusion
• Réseau DiagonalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational network of contemporary photography production and diffusion structures for knowledge sharing and collaborative projects
• Rencontres internationales de la photographie en GaspésiecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFranco-Québec partnership for cross-residency programs since 2015, with photographers exchanged between Picardie and Gaspésie regions
• Le Quadrilatère (Beauvais)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMain exhibition venue for Photaumnales festival, hosting major photography exhibitions as the primary cultural space in Beauvais
• Cercle Hippolyte BayardmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of five photography centers in Hauts-de-France (CRP, Château Coquelle, Destin sensible, Diaphane, Institut pour la photographie) collaborating on joint programming
• DRAC Hauts-de-FrancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional directorate of the Ministry of Culture providing institutional funding and support for artistic programming
• Médicis-stockminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBook distribution partner for Diaphane Éditions photography publications

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Institut pour la photographie: Lille-based photography center and the fifth member of the Cercle Hippolyte Bayard alongside Diaphane. Operates with similar non-profit public-funding model focused on contemporary photography heritage and creation in Hauts-de-France.
• Château Coquelle: Photography center member of the Cercle Hippolyte Bayard in Hauts-de-France. Operates residencies, exhibitions, and educational programs with a similar public-funding model and territorial focus on contemporary photography.
• Le BAL: Paris-based independent venue dedicated to image practices, offering exhibitions, publications, and educational programs on contemporary photography. Comparable non-profit photography center model, though with a Paris urban footprint and larger scale.
• Destin sensible: Hauts-de-France photography center and member of the Cercle Hippolyte Bayard. Comparable regional scale and mission, focused on contemporary photographic creation, residencies, and territorial outreach.
• Centre Régional de la Photographie Nord-Pas-de-Calais (CRP): Direct regional peer and explicit partner within the Cercle Hippolyte Bayard. CRP is a photography center created in 1982 in Hauts-de-France, jointly organizing programming with Diaphane following the Picardie/Nord-Pas-de-Calais regional fusion. Comparable scale, public funding model, and territorial mission.

Broad incumbents

• Rencontres d'Arles: Major annual international photography festival in Arles, France. Comparable festival-driven photography programming model at significantly larger scale and global prestige, operating under a different associative structure.
• Jeu de Paume: Paris public institution presenting photography, video, film, and installation. Comparable contemporary photography exhibition and mediation mission under public tutelage, though operating at the national-capital scale with significantly larger programming budget.
• Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP): Paris-based photography institution presenting exhibitions of contemporary and modern photography. Comparable non-profit exhibition and public mediation model, but at materially larger scale with a permanent urban venue and broader international reach.

Regional players

• Foto em Pauta: Brazilian photography festival in Tiradentes (Minas Gerais), partnered with Diaphane for Photaumnales Brasil 2025. Comparable festival-driven photography programming model serving a different geography but operating with similar scale and non-profit structure.
• Kaunas Photo: Lithuanian photography festival and Diaphane's longest-standing international partner. Comparable festival-driven contemporary photography programming model in a different national context, with similar artist-exchange and joint-curation activity.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/diaphanephotographie
• Instagraminstagram.com/diaphanephotographie
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/diaphane

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Diaphane