The artists of Ménilmontant celebrate the 30th anniversary of their Open Studios on September 23rd-26th

The Association des Artistes de Ménilmontant will organize its thirtieth open days next fall. Held on September 23rd-26th, 2021, this local event will be an opportunity to discover pieces by 140 artists and collectives exhibited in the many workshops in the neighborhood, and to attend performances and concerts.

– Version française –

For Louis Tranchinsu, president of the association, the annual art walk will be “a return to the sources of culture, to meet the public of the 20th arrondissement once again”. From the bustling Rue de Belleville to the walls of the Père Lachaise cemetery, from the heights of Télégraphe to the bars and terraces of Rue Saint-Maur, around sixty locations will welcome visitors to share new “moments of wonder”. Artists’ studios, apartments, shared workshops, theaters, cafes, restaurants: more than half of the exhibition sites will be fully accessible to people with reduced mobility.

“2021 is a special year for us, as we celebrate thirty years of evolution in our artistic work. The association continues to grow with the arrival of many artists from different backgrounds”, explains Louis Tranchinsu. The artists of Ménilmontant will once again present “a wide range of artistic practices”, reflecting the diversity of the neighborhood’s visual art scene – “painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, photography, video, pottery, ceramics, fashion, graphic design”… The event has attracted more than 15 000 visitors in previous years.

The main information point for the upcoming Open Studios will be located at the Ménil’8 gallery, with a second designated venue at the ESAT Ménilmontant (see map below). The workshops will remain open to the public from 2pm to 8pm, with a late opening until 9pm on Thursday 23rd. Thanks to partnerships with their schools, students specializing in cabinet-making from the École Boulle and in engraving from the École Estienne will have the chance to unveil their creations from the past year. For this anniversary, the artists of Ménilmontant will also partner with the Gare XP, a few steps away from Porte de Lilas, which will feature the works of about fifteen additional artists from Friday to Sunday.

Finally, from street art to dance and poetry, performances, workshops and events will be held in different venues during the four days of the Open Studios. Several of these events have already been announced:

Thursday, September 23rd:

Lengyel Jenö-Pàl, Frédérique Hatier, and Nagy Kàlmàn – Musical opening
2pm-6pm – 15 bis rue Villiers de l’Isle d’Adam, 75020 Paris

Patz – “Histoires en La mineur”
7:30pm – 10 rue Boyer, 75020 Paris

Emma Blanchard – Celtic harp mini-concert
8:30pm – 8 rue Boyer, 75020 Paris

Friday, September 24th:

Théâtre des Ateliers du Chaudron – Clown performance & soundpainting
7pm – 31 passage de Ménilmontant, 75011 Paris

Saturday, September 25th:

Evelyne Smolarski – Painting & engraving workshop in the backyard
4pm-5:30pm – 13 rue Leuck-Mathieu, 75020 Paris

Brigitte Lagoutte – Poetry reading (in French)
5pm – École Robert Doisneau, rue des Panoyaux, 75020 Paris

Steve Potts & Ménilmontant Street Band – Jazz concert & Improvisation
5pm – 31 passage de Ménilmontant, 75011 Paris

Théâtre des Ateliers du Chaudron – Clown-led walking tour
7pm – 31 passage de Ménilmontant, 75011 Paris

Sunday, September 26th:

Lengyel Jenö-Pàl, Frédérique Hatier, and Nagy Kàlmàn – Musical performance
2pm-6pm – 15 bis rue Villiers de l’Isle d’Adam, 75020 Paris

Evelyne Smolarski – Painting & engraving workshop in the backyard
4pm-5:30pm – 13 rue Leuck-Mathieu, 75020 Paris

Alain Brühl, Akié Kakéhi, and Polska – “Vents d’anges”, musical and graphic improvisation
5pm – 7 rue de Montlouis, 75011 Paris

Musica – Jazz concert & Improvisation
5pm – 31 passage de Ménilmontant, 75011 Paris

Théâtre des Ateliers du Chaudron – Clown-led walking tour
7pm – 31 passage de Ménilmontant, 75011 Paris

Open Studios – Artistes de Ménilmontant
September, Thursday 23rd, Friday 24th, Saturday 25th, Sunday 26th – 2pm-8pm (9pm on Thursday)
Free admission

The full program of the Open Studios 2021 will be published on the association’s website:
ateliersdemenilmontant.org

There will be two designated meeting points during the event:
Galerie Ménil’8 : 8 rue Boyer, 75020 Paris
ESAT Ménilmontant : 40 rue des Panoyaux, 75020 Paris