Léonce Raphaël Agbodjélou Wins the 2026 Prix des Amis du musée Albert-Kahn

Beninese photographer Léonce Raphaël Agbodjélou (b. 1965) has been awarded the 2026 Prix des Amis du musée Albert-Kahn for his series Egungun.

The award, presented by the museum’s friends association, includes a €5,000 bursary and an exhibition opportunity at the museum. French photographer Thierry Bouët received a special mention and €1,500 for his series Paris #1.

Son of Joseph Moïse Agbodjélou, one of the first documented photographers in Benin, Léonce Raphaël lives and works in Porto Novo, the Beninese city where all traditions, Western and African, all cultures, both indigenous and imported from the diasporas, come together. His work is held by institutions including the Musée du quai Branly, the Brooklyn Museum, the National Gallery of Canada and the Carnegie Museum of Art.

Until September 20, 2026, his Egungun series is exhibited inside the traditional Japanese houses in the museum’s Japanese garden. The works are on view as part of the festival Mondes en commun, shown alongside the accompanying exhibition Bénin aller-retour. Regards sur le Dahomey de 1930.

The Albert-Kahn museum in Boulogne-Billancourt reopened in April 2022 after a six-year restoration and expansion led by the internationally renowned architect Kengo Kuma, whose work bridges Western and Eastern aesthetics.