URDLA Villeurbannne

Founded in 1978 by the Surrealist-inspired painter Max Schoendorff, URDLA was first housed in a lithography printshop threatened with demolition, with the aim of preserving the building and its associated artisan skills. In 1986, the not-for- profit association moved to a former tulle mill, one of the first to be opened in Lyon’s neighbouring municipality, Villeurbanne – an icon of the city’s working-class heritage, at the crossroads of the region’s historic textile and printing industries. The hybrid space – a workshop, gallery and publishing house – conserves and teaches traditional print- making skills, with a parallel focus on contemporary techniques and production. URDLA is hosting several guest artists for the 16th Lyon Biennale. A place of learning and exchange centered around a specific art form, URDLA is home for a fragile act of creation that is at once ephemeral and lasting.