The Grand Palais newsletter |
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n°5, October 2008 |
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Front pageFIAC A major event on the international art market calendar, FIAC returns, as each year, to its prestigious home in the Nave of the Grand Palais. From October 23 to 26 more than a hundred leading French and international galleries will be unveiling the exciting new talents that have caught their eye. The 35th edition will feature a number of special projects, personal or thematic exhibitions at the Grand Palais while the Louvre and the Jeu de Paume will welcome performance and visual artists as well as theatre and dance. FocusFirst ever auctionNext February will see a unique event in the Nave: the fabulous collection put together by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé over a period of 50 years will be exhibited to the public from February 21 to 23 2009. More than 700 art works with an estimated value of 200 to 300 million euros will be on display. This outstanding exhibition will be followed from February 24 to 26, by an auction, the first ever to be held in the Grand Palais. This exceptional event, already being talked about by specialists as the sale of the century has found in the Nave a setting worthy of the items that will be going under the hammer: "A legendary venue for a legendary collection. A historical, palatial place to stage a major, emblematic event. Definitely the stuff of dreams. Fantastic!", enthuses president Yves Saint-Geours. Before it even happens, this sale, organised by Christie's in association with Pierre Bergé's own auction house, has already found its place in history. Three questions for...Martin Bethenod, general commissioner of the FIAC Martin Bethenod © Henry Roy Quadriges: Who comes to the FIAC? FIAC has a twofold ambition. On one hand we want to present works at the leading edge of contemporary art, thereby meeting the expectations of art professionals: collectors, curators, critics, gallery owners, and museum administrators. At the same time we want the exhibition to be as broad as possible to cater to the widest possible audience. For the general public, who want to get a feeling for contemporary art, FIAC enables a very direct contact with the works in a way that is not intimidating. Our attendance figures reflect this dual thrust: the general public accounts for 70,000 visitors each year, while some 10,000 come for professional reasons. Quadriges: What are the highlights of the 2008 edition in the Grand Palais? This year we will be continuing the trend that we started two years ago: returning to the heart of Paris and select venues that have great prestige: the Louvre, the Grand Palais, and the Tuileries. This year we will be bringing in some new ideas. For example, many galleries have chosen not to present traditional exhibits but are focusing on truly personal projects that take the form of small monographs or one-man shows by artists like Vieira da Silva, Etienne Martin, the Chapman brothers, and Christopher Wool. This brings a very special energy to the show. Quadriges: What do you expect from FIAC 2008? When you hold a party you want it to be a success. When you arrange for people to meet you hope that they will go away having enjoyed it. We hope that the magic between dealers, collectors and the public works. Moreover, all our energy in recent years has been devoted to developing the artistic and cultural scene in Paris. So we hope that FIAC will contribute to enhancing the status and influence of Paris in the world of art.  The new graphic charter for the Grand Palais. © Coll. Grand Palais, photo Cosimo Mirco Magliocca After its prize-winning virtual tour on its Web site, the Grand Palais' has again been rewarded by media and communications professionals, this time for its new visual identity. On October 1, the Grand Prix Stratégies du Design 2008 singled out the Grand Palais in the "visual identity" category. The 22nd Grand Prix Stratégies du Design rewards the year's most creative achievements in visual identity, packaging, industrial design, international projects, the environment, commercial architecture, innovation and development, publishing, global brand design and Web design. The 2008 Stratégies du Design awardThe Nave goes Wi-Fi As from October 23, date of the opening of FIAC, the Grand Palais, in partnership with Ozone, will be offering a free wireless connection in the Nave. This will enables visitors and exhibitors to have free access to e-mails, blogs and Web sites from computers or mobile phones. The procedure could hardly be easier, each user simply creating a personal account on the home page. The movies in the Grand PalaisThis autumn, the Grand Palais will be inaugurating its projection room. Located on the first floor of the building, on the south-facing side overlooking the Seine side, the facility will be used for screenings, lectures and debates. With a capacity of 100, it is due to open next month, and will offer outstanding full-numeric image quality. Scaffolding that pays Since October 1, a huge advert for Air France has been spread out across the ongoing work on the Seine side façade of the Grand Palais. This is the first time that scaffolding tarpaulin has been used for advertising on a listed historic building in Paris. The revenue will be fed directly into restoration work on the building. The new initiative is allowed under the terms of the heritage code but requires an official go-ahead from the Paris Préfecture.
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A word from the presidentArt does not the exclusive property of specialists or an elite. It belongs to us all! This is the deep conviction that underpins our programming policy for the Nave of the Grand Palais. Whether we are talking about the an event like FIAC that has become a regular fixture and celebrates this year its 35th anniversary, or the exceptional sale of the prestigious Pierre Bergé - Yves Saint Laurent collection next February, all these events share one and the same ambition: to place art at the heart of society where it can be shared by the widest possible audience. Yves Saint-Geours President of the Établissement public du Grand Palais Coming soonThe Grand Palais goes into podcasting! Starting next month you will be able to hear the new podcasts made by the Grand Palais on the grandpalais.fr Web site. In the first episode, you can hear Yves Saint-Geours present the latest news of the Nave, the schedule for 2009 and the new areas due to open soon. Watch this space… The European city of science November 14-16 Nave of the Grand Palais Interactive group activities, debates, exhibitions: in over 50 separate areas, a chance to explore a panorama of European research. Art en capital November 22-30 Nave of the Grand Palais Five historic exhibitions join forces to celebrate contemporary creativity in a single event. Dans la nuit, des images December 18-31 Nave of the Grand Palais An outstanding event dedicated to the visual arts, to bring the curtain down on the French presidency of the European Union. For fourteen nights, the facade, floor, walls and glass roof of the Nave will be alight with a veritable firework display of visual and digital arts. A huge party that will kick into action as soon as night falls. AgendaPractical informationRER : ligne C / station Invalides Bus : lignes 28, 42, 52, 72, 73, 80, 83, 93 Vélib : Station n° 8029, 1 av. Franklin-D.-Roosevelt / n° 8001, av. Dutuit Parkings : Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées, place de la Concorde, parc François-Ier, Alma Georges-V, Champs-Élysées Lincoln, Matignon. Personnes à mobilité réduite : accès avenue Winston-Churchill |
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Chief editor: Jean-Paul Cluzel Editorial committee:: Marjorie Lecointre, Isabelle Stibbe © Grand Palais, 2010 |
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