Looking for a cultural break? From the Marais to Pantin through Belleville and La Villette, we’ll be your guide for this month’s selection of art exhibits!
Belleville Craftmanship Days
October 7th & 8th
“On October 7th-8th, the Belleville Craftmanship Days return for their 8th year! This dynamic event radiating beyond Eastern Paris is centered around the upcoming Pôle artisanat de Belleville (Belleville Crafts Hub)… Throughout the weekend, local Artisans will be showcasing craft trades and their know-how. Visitors will be strolling through the narrow streets and cobbled courtyards, with artisans and craftspeople welcoming them to their workshops to meet and share their skills, at the very heart of Belleville’s creativity. The event will bring together nearly 60 artisans and craftspeople in some 30 locations in the neighborhood.”
Saturday & Sunday: 2pm-7pm – Free admission
Belleville Neighborhood
Welcome points:
• Maison de l’Air du Parc de Belleville – 27 rue Piat, 75020 Paris
• GRETA CDMA – 21 Rue de Sambre-et-Meuse, 75010 Paris
artisansdebelleville.fr
Zoé Cavaro – Personal Exhibition
October 3rd-31st
“Zoé Cavaro is a director, photographer and video jockey. She has developped a surreal, powerful, and aestheticizing visual universe. After studying cinema in Nantes, she joined the Collectif Opéra, a transdisciplinary collective combining music and cinema, before moving to Paris in 2022 to develop her work. Her photographs are vivid, textured, and sensitive. Zoé likes to draw on the complexity of human relationships, which she magnifies through intimate images that strike a balance between gentleness and melancholy.”
Tuesday to Sunday: 11am-7pm – Free admission
Péniche L’eau et les rêves
9 quai de l’Oise, 75019 Paris
www.penichelibrairie.com
Mário Macilau – Faith
Until October 21st
“Faith documents the practice of animism in contemporary Mozambique. In traditional religions, whose members believe in the existence of individual spirits who inhabit natural objects and phenomena, the spirits of ancestors can affect the lives of the living. These traditional religions preserve the ancient cultures of the Mozambican tradition. Ancestral religious practices entail the transmission of knowledge: traditional medicine, healing methods, rites of passage for young men and women, rules of community life. All of these practices reflect diverse local conceptions of God and the cosmos.”
Wednesday to Friday: 2pm-7pm – Saturday: 11am-6pm – Free admission
Fisheye Gallery
2 rue de l’Hôpital Saint-Louis, 75010 Paris
fisheyegallery.fr
Margaux Salmi – Dedans
Until October 7th
“Born in Aurillac in 1991, this prolific artist – both visual artist and musician – writes, paints, composes and records from her current home near Grenoble. While drawing was the source of her early vocation, music remains an inseparable part of her creative process. The recent release of the illustrated album Dehors bears witness to this porosity, with the tormented subjects of Rouge Renarde’s songs inevitably permeating Margaux Salmi’s paintings, and vice versa. The scenography of the exhibition Dedans documents this two-headed practice, with a two-room dialogue between a particularly inspired collection of graphic, video and pictorial artworks. Straightforward self-portraits, chimerical bestiary, and phantasmagorical landscapes unfold under the sharp features of this spirited young woman, displaying a contagious hypersensitivity.”
Monday to Saturday: 12:30pm-7:30pm – Free admission
Galerie Arts Factory
27 rue de Charonne, 75011 Paris
www.artsfactory.net
Clémence Trossevin – Les Passages
Until October 10th
“This is Clémence Trossevin’s second exhibition at Slow Galerie: in 2020, Ici, l’ombre est bleue anchored in her native Cévennes, recounted river baths, endless card games, siesta afternoons, time slowly passing… From September 7th to October 10th, Clémence exhibits Les Passages, a series of around thirty gouache paintings inspired by her regular migrations between her native South and Paris, where she has been living for several years. The artist invites us to move from one universe to another, from the exuberant nature of the Cévennes to the cobblestones of Paris.”
Monday to Saturday: 11am-7pm – Free admission
Slow Galerie
5 rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, 75011 Paris
www.slowgalerie.com
Sublime Objet – Les plis désirés
October 5th-15th
“Sublime Objet is a contemporary art exhibition presented each year as part of the Belleville Craftmanship Days. Questioning the boundaries between art and craft, it highlights extraordinary objects and traditional and/or innovative know-how. The aim of the exhibition is to reveal the diversity and freedom of Belleville’s creativity, illustrating the new dynamics around craft and artistic activity driven by several Greater Belleville collectives. This 8th edition, entitled Les plis désirés (Desired folds), highlights the art of the fold and reveals the ways in which artists and craftspeople bend materials to sublimate them. Textile, paper, clay, cardboard, metal, wood and parchment: materials bend without breaking, inviting us to explore the limits of the world and to enter into that which has hitherto been hidden from us. Proposed by Mô Mathey and Les Colporteurs, the exhibition brings together artists Cécile Bourdais, Christian Chang, Junior Fritz Jacquet, Jérôme Grivel, Philippe Hérard, Lika Kato, Mô Mathey, Hakuyo Miya, Emma Nony, Catherine Olivier, Prisca Razafindrakoto, Alison Vignault, in partnership with Karen Grigorian, founder of the Maison du pli.”
Thursday to Sunday: 2pm-8pm – Free admission
Galerie des Ateliers d’Artistes de Belleville
1 rue Francis Picabia, 75020 Paris
ateliers-artistes-belleville.fr
El Amor Hace Familia
October 10th-22nd
“This group show brings together eight artists from Central and South America (Uruguay, Mexico, Peru…), with photographers La Tessita, Ana Margarita Flores, Bettina Pittaluga, Claudia Rivera, Juliette Malveau, Hélène Tchen and Raul Guillermo, and painter Maira Villena. The exhibition can be read on two levels, where each artist addressing their tender, distant, particular and nostalgic link to their origins, to the country of their forebears, to their heritage, to the rites and customs that inhabit them, to their family here or far away, to the family they created for themselves. It will also be held as part of Sabor Latino Month, organized by Claudia Rivera, a festival that brings Latin American cultures to France throughout October with exhibitions, DJ sets, performances, drag shows, markets, etc. These two weeks will also include the Floréal Belleville 5-year birthday party: on the evening of Thursday October 19th, the Sancho & Pancho collective, known for their baile funk, afro, reggaeton, dancehall and kuduro nuggets, will get everybody dancing to a special Latino vibes selecta!”
Tuesday to Sunday: 12pm-10pm – Free admission
Floréal Belleville
43 rue des Couronnes, 75020 Paris
florealbelleville.com
Ateliers d’Artistes de Montreuil Open Studios
October 13th-15th
Montreuil has become a key territory in the Paris region’s art scene, inviting visitors to open the doors of its workshops starting Friday, October 13th. Visitors will be able to meet some 250 artists throughout the city. Scheduled over three days, the 25th edition of the Montreuil Artists’ Open House will involve several venues that contribute to the cultural influence of the Seine-Saint-Denis city. The main welcome point, the Centre Tignous d’Art Contemporain, will be open for the entire duration of the event.
Friday: 6pm-10pm – Saturday & Sunday: 11am-7pm – Free admission
Ville de Montreuil
Welcome point: Centre Tignous d’art contemporain – 116 rue de Paris, 93100 Montreuil
poaa.centretignousdartcontemporain.fr
AKAA – Also Known As Africa
October 20th-22nd
The art fair Also Known As Africa will soon be back in the Carreau du Temple hall for its eighth edition. Dedicated to contemporary creations from the African continent and its diasporas, this year’s event it will bring together the works of some forty French and international galleries, with nearly 120 artists represented. Several Eastern Paris locations will participate in the event, scheduled from Friday 20th to Sunday, October 22nd, such as 193 Gallery (April Bey), Backslash (Fahamu Pecou, Duncan Wylie), and Galerie Anne de Villepoix (Atsoupé, Yassine Balbzioui, Bouvy Enkobo, Franck Lundangi). Painting, photography, drawing, sculpture, collage: culture lovers will once again be spoilt for choice with the diversity of the featured artworks.
Friday: 12pm-8pm – Saturday: 12pm-8pm – Sunday: 12pm-6pm – €16/€11
Carreau du Temple
4 rue Eugène Spuller, 75003 Paris
akaafair.com
Après l’Éclipse
Until October 22nd
With the collective exhibition Après l’Éclipse, on view until October 22nd, the Magasins Généraux in Pantin (Seine-Saint-Denis) aim to present “new forms, new narratives, and new artistic imaginaries”. Such is the case, for example, with Seumboy Vrainom, who questions “the appropriation of digital space and access to information” through the use of artificial intelligence. Organized around a narrative by Pantin art historian and critic Horya Maklouf, the exhibition brings together a true mosaic of creative processes. The public will discover films by Zine Andrieu, Valentin Noujaïm and Rayane Mcirdi, between “documentary and fantastic fiction”, autobiographical compositions in oil or acrylic by Neïla Czermak Ichti, Ibrahim Meït Sikely and Lassana Sarra, and new video and sound projects by Christelle Oyiri and Silina Syan. “Scattered in space”, four monologue-works by Ndayé Kouagou weave new links between the various artists featured, expressing “intimate reflections on themes such as freedom, love, the quest for identity, and open-mindedness”. — Our article (French)
Wednesday to Sunday: 2pm-7pm – Free admission
Magasins généraux
1 rue de l’Ancien Canal, 93500 Pantin
magasinsgeneraux.com
Corps à corps – Histoire(s) de la photographie
Until March 25th
“Bringing together more than 500 photographs and documents by some 120 historical and contemporary photographers, Corps à corps (Body to body) offers a unique insight into photographic representations of the human race in the 20th and 21st centuries. The exhibition goes beyond the traditional categories of study such as “portrait”, “self-portrait”, “nudes” and so-called “humanist” photography. It reveals the particularities and “photographic” ways of seeing, showing the connections between artists. It brings to light common obsessions in ways of addressing the subject and stylistic approaches. The images on display also question the photographer’s responsibility: how does photography contribute to the birth of identities and their visibility? How does it recount individualities, the relationship with the Other?”
Every day except Tuesdays: 11am-9pm (until 11pm on Thursdays) – €17/€14/€0
Centre Pompidou
Place Georges Pompidou, 75004 Paris
www.centrepompidou.fr
Toucher Terre
Until December 17th
“In an exhibition space committed to contemporary sculpture and through the artworks of the Villa Datris Foundation, Toucher Terre brings together more than 50 ceramic artworks by French and international artists on the theme of Earth. The discovery of the material plunges us into a primitive forest sheltering various animal and plant species – creatures inspired by nature, mythology and folktales. From the bowels of the Earth as archaeological witness of our civilization, to the intimacy of the workshop where accident and control, chance and luck reign, ceramics reveals its strengths and weaknesses.”
Wednesday to Sunday: 11am-6:30pm – Free admission
Espace Monte Cristo
9 rue Monte-Cristo, 75020 Paris
fondationvilladatris.fr/espace-monte-cristo
Urgence climatique
Until December 31st
In La Villette (19th arrondissement), the Cité des Sciences is renowned for its playful exhibitions, with visitors taking part in experiments in which they are the protagonists. Faced with one of the major challenges of our century, and in order to raise awareness regarding climate change, the museum features an interactive tour to explore the subject. The program includes game-like workshops, explanatory panels, data visualizations, and interactive videos, all presented by scientists, engineers, and sociologists. […] — Our article (French)
Tuesday to Saturday: 10am-6pm – Sunday: 10am-7pm
Also in English – From 15+ – €13/€10/€0
Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie
30 avenue Corentin Cariou, 75019 Paris
www.cite-sciences.fr
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Illustration (cropped):
Exhibition view – ‘Après l’Éclipse’ aux Magasins généraux
© Paris Lights Up
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