The Grand Palais newsletter

Quadriges: What gave you the idea for the project?
I first discovered the world of tags in 1992. At the time I was doing volunteer work for a foundation distributing sleeping bags to the homeless at the Gare du Nord station. This is where I first came across the tags that covered the trains and platform walls.
As for the project itself, the inspiration was twofold. As an architect I am obliged to have my name inscribed on the stone for posterity, yet artists are not even entitled to use the temporary fencing at the building sites. When I bought an artist's studio to set up my own practice a tagger who signed himself "amour" came to visit. I invited him to take advantage of the studio to paint a canvas on the love theme. He said he couldn't do it because his entire message was contained in his tag. So I asked the other palisade artists to create a double canvas on which they wrote their name on the left and executed a work of their choice on the love theme on the right. For the format, I chose horizontal canvases reminiscent of the shape of wagons and walls. I set a size limit so that the canvases would fit in my Smart and I could transport them easily.

Quadriges: What does it mean to you to be exhibiting in the unique venue of the South-East Gallery of the Grand Palais?
Bringing these artists the recognition they deserve by showing tags in a prestigious setting like the Grand Palais is the culmination of my personal commitment. Symbolically staged in a roughcast environment, the exhibition will, I hope, be the first of many. The Grand Palais is fulfilling its tradition of breaking with tradition!
On a personal level it is especially poignant for me to be inaugurating the south-east gallery because we began by demolishing the library, a vestige of the architecture faculty where I did my studies.

Quadriges: What kind of public do you expect?
This exhibition is all about discovery and recognition. Tag is an art form that is there for all to see but that people do not really see because of its negative image. What I am hoping is that the public will be prepared to take the risk of discovering a new art form, understanding it and no longer seeing it as defacement.

On March 12, the President of the Grand Palais, Yves Saint-Geours, will present this year's scheduled refurbishment projects to the media. The brief will include an emotional moment as the first hammer blows are dealt to the doorway between the Nave and the salon d'honneur, bricked up for the last 60 years. In January 2010, the public will at last be able to admire the new VIP lounge, a vast area beneath a 1,200 m2 (nearly 13,000 sq. ft.) glass roof, which, once restored, will regain its former splendour and provide a perfect setting for new high-profile events. We'll be bringing you full details of the restoration programme in next month's Quadriges!

Our Tuesdays in the Grand Palais continue with a new cycle of lecture-debates, taking a central theme — "50 years of cultural policy" — that is particularly topical as France celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the creation of its Ministry of Culture.
Tuesday March 3: "Is culture for all just pie in the sky?" with Bruno Maresca, Philippe Yong, Jean-François Zygel. Moderator: Geneviève de Cazaux, journalist and reporter at the TF1 TV channel.
The cycle continues on Tuesday March 10 with: "Is French cultural diversity a form of resistance or just pride?" with Françoise Benhamou, Pierre Moulinier, Pascal Rogard, Bertrand Tavernier. Moderator: Philippe Petit.
The next cycle will focus on the theme of fashion.