Biography
Stéphanie Roland is a Brussels-based visual artist and filmmaker. Working at the intersection of documentary and the imaginary, her films and installations explore the invisible structures of the Western world, vast temporal scales, and hyperobjects. Her practice draws from a diverse range of fields, including environmentalism, politics, geology, and the cosmos.
She graduated from La Cambre in Brussels and studied with Hito Steyerl at the Universität der Künste (UdK) in Berlin before completing a postgraduate programme at Le Fresnoy – Studio national des arts contemporains in France. Her work has been exhibited at internationally renowned institutions, including the Venice Biennale, Kampala Art Biennale, the Louvre, the Stedelijk Museum, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, the Benaki Museum (Athens), Louvre-Lens, Bozar, Basis Frankfurt, WIELS, Botanique, and ISELP.
She has participated in major photography festivals, including BredaPhoto, Belfast Photo Festival, Encontros da Imagem, BIP Liège and MOPLA Los Angeles.
Her films have been screened at international festivals, including Visions du Réel, FID Marseille, Festival dei Popoli, ZINEBI (Bilbao), FEST – New Directors / New Films, Rencontres Internationales Paris / Berlin, Curtas Cinema (Brazil), and PÖFF Shorts (Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival). Her first film, Podesta Island, received the Alice Guy Prize at FID Marseille. Her second film, Le Cercle Vide (The Empty Sphere), was awarded the TËNK Prize at Visions du Réel in Nyon.
In 2024, a Prospectif programme showcasing the complete body of her films was held at the Centre Pompidou, Paris.
Awards / Grants
2025
NTAA Award, Fondation Liedts-Meesen
2024
Drop! Cover! Hold On! — DAFilms Award, FIDLab Marseille
Drop! Cover! Hold On! — Préludes Award, FIDLab Marseille
2023
The Empty Sphere — Special Mention, Best Documentary, Territoires en Images
Chroniques Biennale Award — Special Mention
2022
The Empty Sphere — ARRI Award for Best Documentary, FILMSCHOOLFEST MUNICH
The Empty Sphere — Best Short Award, Corsica.doc
The Empty Sphere — Silver Lynx for Experimental Film, Special Mention, FEST – New Directors | New Films Festival
The Empty Sphere — TËNK Award, Visions du Réel
Podesta Island — Best Cinematography, Tangier Film Festival
2021
Podesta Island — Best Short Film Award + Best Experimental Film Award, Golden Harvest Film Festival
Podesta Island — Prix Alice Guy, FIDMarseille
Bourse Mondes Nouveaux, Ministère de la Culture — laureate
2020
Bourse Neuflize OBC, Le Fresnoy — laureate
Maribor Photobook Award — Runner-Up Prize
2019
Prix Jeunes Artistes, Parlement de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles — shortlisted
BMW Residency Award — shortlisted
2017
Grand Prix Images Vevey — shortlisted
2015
Oskar Barnack Leica Award — shortlisted
2014
HSBC Award for Photography — shortlisted
2013
Bourse SPES — laureate
UCO Grant, La Fragua / University of Córdoba — laureate
Bourse Vocatio – Fondation de la Vocation — laureate
2012
Full Contact Award, SCAN Tarragona — laureate
2011
Ecrea Award, Emergent International Festival of Visual Arts, Lleida — laureate
Prix Médiatine, Brussels — laureate
2010
Prix Coup de Cœur, Association des Amis de La Cambre — laureate
Group exhibitions
2026
Équilibre temporaire, MACS, Grand-Hornu
Soufles terrestres, Biennale Chroniques, Aix-en-Provence
Chrysalis, BPS22, Charleroi
Converser avec le Futur, Ososphère, Strasbourg
Ghost of the Moment, Fotografia Europea Festival, Reggio Emilia
Deep Fields, Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles, Paris
Bibliophily, DarkRoom, Seoul
Une rencontre étrange et heureuse, Galerie Art contemporain,
Auvers-sur-Oise
Two suns & two moons, Malta Society of arts, Valetta
Tipping Point, Friche la Belle de Mai, Marseille
Belgomania, Villa Pérochon - Centre d’art photographique, Niort
NTAA, Fondation Liedts-Meesen, Ghent
2024
Dans tes brumes, Galerie Les filles du Calvaire, Paris
Scopitone, Nantes
Arpenter les Lieux, CACLB - Centre d’art Contemporain du Luxembourg
Stellar Scape, Le Pavillon, Namur
Archipels fantômes, île Nouvelle, Blaye
Mystery bag, La mercerie, Art Brussels, Brussels
Dans la Nature, Espace Gantner, Belfort
Festival ZERO1, La Rochelle
2023
La Fragua, Fundación Botí, Córdoba
Le pôle d’inaccessibilité, Galerie Elektra, Montreal
Scopitone, Nantes
Capture, Le Pavillon, Namur
Faire croître des plantes dans l’obscurité,
El Bòlit, Girona
The infinity of grapes, CNEAI, Paris
Champ libre, POELP, Brussels
Mondes nouveaux, Beaux-Arts de Paris, Paris
Paysage. Fenêtre sur la nature, Louvre-Lens, Lens
Design a book, Bibliothèque Wittockania, Brussels
Memories gone wild, ISELP, Brussels
2022
Onomatopées, Galerie Huberty & Breyne
Open Doors, POELP Ateliers, Brussels
Paréidolies – en quête de formes, La Châtaigneraie, Flémalle
Biennale Chroniques, Fondations Vasarely, Aix-en-Provence
2021
Biennale Image tangible, Paris
There Is No Such Thing as Abstract Art, Emergent, Furnes
Etoffes, Centre de la Laine, Verviers
Deus ex machina, Musée de Soissons, Soissons
20m2, public space, Brussels
Panorama 23, Le Fresnoy - Studio National des Arts Contemporains, Tourcoing
La nouvelle vague, Biennale du Condroz, Marchin
Le court en dit long, Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris
In extremis, Galerie Confluence, Nantes
2020
Inside-out, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels
Panorama 22, Le Fresnoy - Studio National des Arts Contemporains, Tourcoing
Exi(s)t, public space, Brussels
The Eriskay Connection, POST, Tokyo
Narration.s, La vallée, Brussels
Digital Icons, MILL Musée Ianchelevici, La Louvière
Imprimé / Intimité / Collection, Galerie UQO, Gatineau
2019
Undeleted, Wiels, Brussels
Etalage tactile, Recyclart, Brussels
Greetings by Superstudio - Architecture as Political Instrument, Haus Der Arkitektur, Graz
Stormy weather, Arnhem Museum, Arnhem
À revoir sans modération, Galerie Triangle Bleu, Stavelot
Bientôt Déjà Hier, ARTour Biennale, MMDD - Site minier, Bois-du-Luc
S.O.S., Muzee Scheveningen, The Hague
Aurora Eterna, Officina della Scrittura, Turin
No Rain No Stones, Pinguin, Brussels
Capture, Halles de Schaerbeek, Brussels
Utopia, Malmö Fotobiennal, Malmö
2018
[Cloitre]#1, Cloître, Brussels
Pilotage, Galerie Triangle Bleu, Stavelot
Fusée de la Motographie, C/O Berlin, Berlin
Fusée de la Motographie, Rolling paper, Le Bal, Paris
Nuances d'acier, Musée Ianchelevici, La Louvière
Arslan Alumni, Universität der Künste, Berlin
Zone bleue, Pop Up Atelier Synoptique Portatif, Brussels
I still believe in miracles, Penthouse, Brussels
Unseen Photobook Award, Photobookfest, Moscow
Topographie de la subversion, Halles Saint Gery, Brussels
2017
Antarctic Pavillion, Venice Biennale, Venice
A Bao A Qou, Baumhaus, Luxembourg
10 years, Residencia Corazón, La Plata
Unseen dummy award, Unseen, Amsterdam
Tendencies, Bozar, Brussels
Make the great great again, GNF Gallery, Brussels
Nature fertile, Galerie Triangle Bleu, Stavelot
Tu me manques, Galerie haute - Arts², Mons
Art & Swap, Saldias Station, Buenos Aires
2016
Interférences, KIKK Festival, Namur
Luxembourg Art Week, Galerie Triangle Bleu, Luxembourg
Seven hills, Kampala Biennale, Kampala
Interfaces, Urbana Project, Bozar, Brussels
3 X 10, Galerie Triangle Bleu, Stavelot
Next flood, 38CC, Delft
Heterotopia, Brussels
2015
Espèces d'espaces, Les abbatoirs de Bomel, Namur
Power and illusion, Encontros da Imagem, Braga
186 Louise, Brussels
Portraits n°3, Centre Culturel Valery Larbaud, Vichy
Reframe Memory, Benaki Museum, Athens
Belfast Photo Festival, Belfast
Super / Natural, 1708 Gallery, Richmond
2014
Manifesto, Festival d'images, Toulouse
Songs for the heart, Breda International Photo Festival, Breda
Sensus, galerie triangle bleu, Stavelot
Contempo, International Festival of Contemporary Art, Varna
Parkunst, Hôtel Communal, Woluwé Saint Pierre, Brussels
Notre horizon s'ouvre ici, Artothèque de Wolubilis, Brussels
Reviewed 2013, Frans Masereel Centrum, Kasterlee
Mixing identities , Palazzo Barone Ferrara, Bari
Photo L.A., 23rd Annual International Los Angeles Photographic Art Exposition, Los Angeles
2013
Science frictions, La Fragua, Belalcazar, Córdoba
Border body - Mixing cities and identities, MECA Mediterráneo Centro Artístico, Almeria
Border body - Mixing cities and identities, gallery MD_S, Wrocław
Exposition de la francophonie, Acropole, Nice
Quarante œuvres pour le temps futur,
Centre culturel Jacques Frank, Brussels
Out of focus, Videoholica Video Art Festival, Varna
Border Cities & New Identities, The Water Plant (Uzina de Apă), Suceava
Liquid Cities & Temporary Identities, Espoonsilta Gallery, Espoo
Los Angeles and beyond, MOPLA - Month of photography, Los Angeles
Print Art Fair, Frans Masereel Centrum, Kasterlee
2012
End of the world party, Galerie Nadine Feront, Brussels
Confessions, Saint-Loup church, Namur
Rencontres d'été, Les plachettes, Flobecq
2011
Ecrea award 2011, Emergent International festival of visual arts, Lleida
Prix Médiatine 2011, Brussels
2009
Two openings, Mobile Institute, Brussels
Solo exhibitions
2022
Blue Marble, ISELP, Brussels
2021
Le pôle d'inaccessibilité, Le Vecteur, Charleroi
2018
Big Crunch, Cloître, Brussels
2017
Biennale – Watch This Space, Galerie Shortcuts, Namur
2016
L'horizon du trou noir, BIP — Biennale de l'Image Possible, Liège
2015
Trou noir et rituels familiaux, Vu Photo, Québec
The Family Paradox, Galerie Triangle Bleu, Stavelot
2014
Ideal city, The Folio Club, Barcelona
Ideal city, Galery Shortcuts, Namur
2013
Ideal city, Fundació Forvm, Tarragona
Ciudad Ideal, Residencia Corazón, Buenos Aires
2011
_ _ : _ _ , B-gallery, Brussels
Les enfants-modèles, Botanique, Brussels
Screenings
2026
Podesta Island, Festival International du Film Insulaire de Groix, Groix
2025
The Empty Sphere, The Light Was Bright and Everything Was Weightless,
Au Jus, Brussels
The Empty Sphere, Festival Bobines de femmes, Lanloup
The Empty Sphere, Becoming Ocean, Villa Arson, Nice
The Empty Sphere, SXSW London, Shoreditch Arts Club, London
Podesta Island, Thematic Screening, Imalat-Hane, Bursa
Podesta Island, Semaine belge, Centre culturel du Beau Canton, Chiny
2024
The Empty Sphere, Curieucity, Centre Bruegel, Brussels
The Empty Sphere, Cinéma Public, Montreal
The Empty Sphere, Rencontres Internationales Paris / Berlin, Berlin
The Empty Sphere, Les Docs de Noirmoutier, Noirmoutier
The Empty Sphere, Internationale Kurzfilmwoche Regensburg, Regensburg
Carte Blanche Stéphanie Roland, POELP, Brussels
The Empty Sphere, London Short Film Festival, London
Podesta Island, Focus numérique, SoundImageCulture, Project Room, Brussels
Podesta Island, Festival Transitions, Cinéma Lumière, Maastricht
Podesta Island, Labocine LIVE, online
2023
The Empty Sphere, Territoires en Images, Paris
The Empty Sphere, Braga Science Film Fest, Braga
The Empty Sphere, Aesthetica Short Film Festival, York
The Empty Sphere, Rencontres Internationales Paris / Berlin, Paris
The Empty Sphere, EUREKA University Film Festival, Bogotá
The Empty Sphere, TISFF – Thessaloniki International Short Film Festival
The Empty Sphere, Rockaway Film Festival, New York
The Empty Sphere, MakeDox, Skopje
The Empty Sphere, Bogotá Experimental Film Festival, Bogotá
The Empty Sphere, Academia Film Olomouc, Olomouc
The Empty Sphere, TËNK Platform – Visions du Réel Selection, online
The Empty Sphere, REGARD, Saguenay
The Empty Sphere, FIDMarseille – La Fête du métrage, Marseille
The Empty Sphere, True/False Film Fest, Columbia
The Empty Sphere, Cinéma Prospectif, Centre Pompidou, Paris
Podesta Island, Cinéma Prospectif, Centre Pompidou, Paris
Podesta Island, Stuttgarter Filmwinter – Festival for Expanded Media
2022
The Empty Sphere, Curta Cinema, Rio de Janeiro
The Empty Sphere, PÖFF Shorts – Black Nights Film Festival, Tallinn
The Empty Sphere, Kasseler Dokfest, Kassel
The Empty Sphere, Izmir Kisa Film Festival, Izmir
The Empty Sphere, FILMSCHOOLFEST MUNICH, Munich
The Empty Sphere, FIFAM – Festival International du Film d’Amiens, Amiens
The Empty Sphere, ZINEBI, Bilbao
The Empty Sphere, Festival dei Popoli, Florence
The Empty Sphere, SoundImageCulture Symposium, Brussels
The Empty Sphere, FestiFreak La Plata International Film Festival, La Plata
The Empty Sphere, Tehran International Short Film Festival, Tehran
The Empty Sphere, Imagine Science Film Festival, New York
The Empty Sphere, Corsica.doc, Ajaccio
The Empty Sphere, Around Video / Art Fair, Lille
The Empty Sphere, FEST – New Directors | New Films Festival, Espinho
The Empty Sphere, Flatpack Festival, Birmingham
The Empty Sphere, Lichter FilmFest Frankfurt International, Frankfurt
The Empty Sphere, Visions du Réel, Nyon — World Premiere
Podesta Island, Tangier Film Festival, Tangier
Podesta Island, Mutoscope Festival, Lyon
Podesta Island, LEMON Batumi International Short Film Festival, Batumi
Podesta Island, Istanbul International Experimental Film Festival, Istanbul
Podesta Island, Beijing International Short Film Festival, Beijing
Podesta Island, Still Voices Film Festival, Ireland
Podesta Island, Futuring Islands Seminar, Vienna
Podesta Island, TISFF – Thessaloniki International Short Film Festival
Podesta Island, Rockaway Film Festival, New York
Podesta Island, Equinoxio Film Festival, Bogotá
Podesta Island, Bogotá Experimental Film Festival, Bogotá
Podesta Island, Festival ECRÃ, Rio de Janeiro
Podesta Island, Rencontres Internationales Paris / Berlin, Paris
Podesta Island, Glasgow Short Film Festival, Glasgow
Podesta Island, Nuit de la Créativité, Campus Créatif de Lille, Lille
Podesta Island, HangArt Créatif, Campus Créatif de Lille, Lille
Podesta Island, Blue Danube Film Festival, Vienna
2021
Podesta Island, Golden Harvest Film Festival, Tokyo
Podesta Island, Mois du Doc – Au bout du monde, Brussels
Podesta Island, ZINEBI, Bilbao
Podesta Island, Imagine Science Film Festival, New York
Podesta Island, FEST – New Directors | New Films Festival, Espinho
Podesta Island, Festival Actoral – Carte Blanche FIDMarseille, Marseille
Podesta Island, FestiFreak La Plata International Independent Film Festival
Podesta Island, Film Festival Münster, Münster
Podesta Island, Festival International du Film Insulaire de Groix, Groix
Podesta Island, FIDMarseille, Marseille — World Premiere
2020
Deception Island, 25 ARTS SECONDE, Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles, Paris
2019
Deception Island, Rencontres Internationales Paris / Berlin, Berlin
Deception Island, Rencontres Internationales Paris / Berlin, Paris
2017
Deception Island, Racovitza Symposium, Vaslui County Museum, Vaslui
Deception Island, Antarctic Pavilion, Venice Biennale, Venice — World Premiere
Curation
2020
Lucas Leffler solo show, Pinguin, Brussels
2019
Shifting Foundations, Hectolitre, Brussels
Residencies
2026
Quai des savoirs, Toulouse
2024
Headlands Center for the arts, Sausalito
2023
SoundImageCulture, Brussels
2019
Fiskars AiR (Onoma), Fiskars
2018
Villa Lena Foundation, Palaia, Tuscany
Cloître, Brussels
2017
iMAL
2016
Institut für Alles Mögliche, Berlin
Nida Art Colony, Nida
La fragua, Belalcazar, Cordoba
2015
Kala Art Institute, Berkeley
2013
Frans Masereel Centrum, Kasterlee
Residencia Corazon, La Plata
Selected talks and lectures
2025
Cumulus, Nantes
Artist talk, ERG, Brussels
2024
Masterclass Claire Ducène, BNA BBOT, Brussels
Mondes Nouveaux, Hôtel de Sully, Paris
2023
Faculté d’architecture, La Cambre, Brussels
Artist talk, Chroniques, Aix-en-Provence
2022
World Philosophy Day, UNESCO, Paris
2019
TEDx, Brussels
Teaching
Guest lecturer, ENSBA – École nationale supérieure des beauxarts, Paris
Guest lecturer, ENSAV La Cambre – École nationale supérieure des arts visuels, Brussels
Education
Le Fresnoy – Studio national des arts contemporains, Tourcoing
Erasmus, Universität der Künste (UdK), Media Arts Department, Berlin
Master, Visual Communication, ENSAV La Cambre – École nationale supérieure des arts visuels, Brussels (with great honour)
Collections
Tate Modern, London
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
Museum Arnhem, Arnhem
ARGOS, Brussels
BPS22, Charleroi
Province de Hainaut, Belgium
Villa Lena Foundation