In 2026, Software Heritage is celebrating its 10th anniversary. To mark this milestone, Software Heritage and Inria have decided to set up a special display: a Source Code Exhibition.
The exhibition, unveiled during the annual Software Heritage Symposium 2026 at UNESCO headquarters in Paris on January 28, is also available online, and should circulate to other venues.
The exhibition takes an unusual approach – treating source code as the central exhibit, not merely as contextual material. Source code, beyond its technical purpose, holds rich layers of meaning. It can reveal the intentions of its author, reflect the historical, social, and cultural context of its creation, and even express personal style, creativity, or aesthetic choices.
The exhibition aims to display a diverse range of voices and perspectives – including scholars, practitioners, scientists, activists, artists, and more. We disseminated a call for contributions and received many proposals. The exhibition committee selected fifteen contributions, covering three thematic axes: Source Code as Historical Testimony, Source Code as a Mirror of Society, and Source Code as Cultural Artifact.
Through this variety, we hope to illustrate the many dimensions through which source code can be understood and appreciated. The exhibition is intended as a starting point to foster engagement and discussion around the place of source code in society, and around the challenge of encouraging interaction with it beyond its technical aspects.
Acknowledgements
& Credits
This project was initiated by Software Heritage, a non-profit dedicated to collecting and preserving source code, with support from Inria (the French National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology). It is funded by both Software Heritage and Inria, and supported by UNESCO (Division for Digital Inclusion and Policies and Digital Transformation).
Exhibit Organizers
Responsible for defining the exhibition concept, curating content, and coordinating logistics:
Mathilde Fichen – Doctoral Researcher, National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts (CNAM) & Software Heritage
Titaÿna Kauffmann – Doctoral Researcher, C²DH, University of Luxembourg
Stefano Penge – Codexpo.org
Camille Picard – Science Outreach Manager, Inria
Exhibition Committee
Responsible for reviewing proposals, curation decisions, and contributing to the introduction texts:
David C. Brock – Robert and Bette Finnigan Fellow, Computer History Museum, Silicon Valley
Pierre Depaz – Postdoctoral Researcher, Universität Basel
Stefano Penge – Codexpo.org
Valérie Schafer – Professor, C²DH, University of Luxembourg
Boštjan Špetič – Head of Collections, Computer History Museum Slovenia
Artemis Yagou – Research Associate, Deutsches Museum (Munich)
Graphic Design and Artistic Direction
Vincent Devillard
vincentdevillard.com
Thank You to Our Contributors
We extend our heartfelt thanks to all individuals who contributed to the panels and texts. Your expertise and creativity made this exhibition possible.
License and Reuse
Unless stated otherwise on a panel or on a picture, the exhibition content is released under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. This allows reuse to extend the exhibition beyond UNESCO’s premises. Please reach out to the organizers if you are interested in displaying the exhibition at your institution.
© Source Code Exhibition 2026 – CC BY 4.0.
Contact us
Please reach out to the organizers if you are interested in displaying the exhibition at your institution : sourcecode-exhibit@inria.fr
