ART FAIRS:Paris Internationale 2017,Part I
The 3rd Edition of Paris Internationale continues the effort to support a young generation of galleries and their artists. The fair retains the collaborative spirit of the first two editions, but will see a complete departure from their aesthetic by exchanging the ornate settings of the hôtels particuliers on Avenue d’Iéna for a more industrial building in the Haut-Marais (Part II).
By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Paris Internationale 2017 Archive
Paris Internationale is a joint initiative from 5 emerging Art Galleries: Antoine Levi, Crévecoeur, High Art, Sultana and Gregor Staiger, as a collective attempt to develop an appropriate model for fostering new advanced initiatives in contemporary art. Paris Internationale 2017 welcomes 55 galleries hailing from 19 countries from them are 20 new exhibitors. Renewing its support of non-profit structures, Paris Internationale also invited eight non-commercial spaces to participate in the fair free of charge. Since 2015, The Cheapest University (T.C.U.) organized collaborative work events in Paris for both emerging and established international artists to discuss and work together in a modest and loosely pedagogical way. Laying its foundation with questions rather than solutions T.C.U. has formed its own distinct version of what can perhaps be described as an “Art School”. On the occasion of Paris Internationale, T.C.U. proposes a new curriculum titled, “What’s in my Bag…?”. Inspired by the eponymous TV show, the reflection was driven by the current security-driven political climate in which bags of citizens are systematically inspected. T.C.U. invited artists and non-profit spaces to engage publicly within Paris Internationale for the duration of the fair. Organized as an amalgamation of lectures, panel conversations and public conferences,”What’s in my Bag…?” takes part over five days in an attempt to generate inquiry and ignite a collective reflection. To date, the following artists have confirmed their participation: Mai-Thu Perret (in conversation with Sumesh Sharma), Cally Spooner, Eva Barto, Heike-Karin Foell (in collaboration with the non-profit space Tonus), Mélanie Matranga, David Noonan (in collaboration with the non-profit space Caro Sposo). The building on Rue Beranger was nicknamed “the screw” because of the spiralling ramp at its center. The venue’s brutalist feel contradicts the decor and codes of Paris Internationale’s previous iterations while offering multiple possibilities for developing specific presentations responding to its architecture and history as the former headquarters of Libération, a newspaper co-founded by Jean-Paul Sartre in 1973 in the wake of the Paris protest movements of May 1968. Libération helped frame and define the political debate in France and organized a number of memorable parties on the roof. From 1987 until 2015, Libération occupied five levels of the nine story building which became a symbol of social engagement, a deontological perspective and a defined journalistic vision.
Info: Paris Internationale, 11 rue Béranger, Paris, Duration: 18-22/10/17, Days & Hours: Wed-Sat (18-21/10/17) 12:00-20:00, Sun (22/10/17) 12:00-18:00, parisinternationale.com
