Paris, the city of light, has long been a magnet for the cultural avant-garde. The same goes for Web3 creators. In summer, fall, spring and even winter, Paris' cryptocurrency art scene is booming.
Here are some sites that accept NFT to add to your stay in France.
L'Avant Galerie Vossen : Founded in 2018 by visionary gallery owner Caroline Vossen, the small but mighty Marais neighborhood has hosted numerous exhibitions featuring prominent local artists such as Albertine Meunier (who runs the gallery and is one of the founders of NFT Factory). ), Vera Molnar, Kalin Iwamoto, Robbie Barratt and Oris Vitier.
From August 5 to October 7, Galeria Avant presents the Pepe Fest exhibition, an exhibition dedicated to the recognition of Pepe, the meme as the new currency of Web3. The exhibition was designed by dedicated and experienced curator Eleonora Brizzi and featured smiling green characters created by renowned Pepe artists from around the world, including Nicolina Petolas, Woman, Gus Grilaska, Zedd and Rare Skrilla. .
Next up is an exhibition of NFT paintings and prints called LONDONCALLING. L'Avant Gallery has been invited to participate in the first edition of the digital sector at Paris Photo, where it will present rebel artists. Next up is an exhibition of NFT paintings and prints called LONDON CALLING. Galeria L'Avant has been invited to participate in the inaugural edition of the digital sector of Paris Photo, where it will present, among others, the rebel artist u2p050.
Calle Chabon 58
75003 Paris
From Thursday to Saturday
2pm-7pm
NFT Factory: If L'Avant Galerie Vossen is the constant heartbeat of the Parisian underground, then NFT Factory is its tangible pulse. Located opposite the Pompidou Center (listed as a worthwhile stop in this guide), the NFT Factory maintains a friendly atmosphere but also offers excellent exhibitions. Kevin Abush's solo exhibition 1337 ran from October 18 to 28, featuring 50 screens that "decided to play with the remnants of hacker culture aesthetics, pulsating and underscoring the urgent need to make sense of an ever-changing media landscape." more armed growth". (again). ). , the expert hand of Eleonora Brizzi).
Among the creators are greats like Fanny Lakoubay, Thui-Thien Vo, Benoit Couty and Jean-Michel Pailhon, who together have done a lot to spark a lot of interest in digital art and had a lot of fun doing it. Case in point: When the Pompidou Center announced the acquisition of several NFTs, including CryptoPunk and the works of Jill Majid, Sarah Meyohas, and Jonas Lund, among others, the NFT Factory hosted an event where the creators of CryptoPunk posed in front of a video they had ROBNESS (earned his job too) Burn Punk.
A milestone in the history of NFTs in France is the Cryptoart Revolution 2021 exhibition organized by Vo, Couty and Meunier, which in many ways is a precursor to the NFT factory. This exhibition attracted the attention of the French Ministry of Digital Affairs and Culture, which organized training sessions on NFTs.
Coming soon: a solo exhibition by Italian artist Mattia Cuttini, which, in Cuttini's words, "will show the world Cuttini's genius."
Call San Martin 137
75004 Paris
From Wednesday to Saturday
11:00 - 19:00
Galerie Charlot : another beacon of digital art in the Marais. Galerie Charlot was founded in 2010 by the prophetess Valérie Hasson-Benillouche. This exhibition features artists as diverse as they are important: Lauren Moffat, Kika Nicolella, Manfred Mohr and others. Their last exhibition was titled Digit-All and the curator's statement illustrates the future vision of the exhibition: “The term digital, the term 'digital' referring to a finger or a digit depending on the language, defines the concept of algorithmic counting. "Write." , but also the immaterial dimension of the object. However, through the process of numbers or the use of digital networks, artists create material, light in the form of video, photography, sculpture or drawing.
Hasson-Benillouche, along with Kim Departe, who works at the gallery, founded Marais DigitARt, an AR gallery and walking tour that covers large areas in the Marais district of Paris, where most of the galleries in this article are located. They support NFT- to. From September 13 to 29, participants are invited to visit a different location each day, indoors and outdoors, to view augmented reality installations by artists such as Hermine Bourdin, Diane Dropay and Tamiko Thiele. We hope to make this successful community initiative a promising annual event.
Next in the exhibition program: Rafael Goez's solo exhibition.
47 Carlotta St
75003 Paris
on Tuesday and Saturday
2pm-7pm
IHAM Gallery : Not far from the NFT factory there is another stop on the Parisian crypto-art map: IHAM. Led by the talented curator Grida and founded in May 2021, the gallery claims to be the first NFT-only gallery in Europe and has since hosted energetic group and solo exhibitions.
From April 25 to May 7, 2022, the exhibition hosted Punkism, the first CryptoPunks exhibition, where the titular punks were invited to give selected artists the right to reinterpret these digital characters and remake them in their own style . 30 CryptoPunk owners and 160 artists participated in the exhibition, while more than 400 people attended the inauguration.
The venue has also hosted solo exhibitions by artists of various genres such as Foodmasku and YUYU. Grida believes that the Gallery "is not just a space; It is a place where people find works of art, exchange them and bring them back into the world.
Next, IHAM Mr. presents artist Misang's first solo exhibition at the Korean Cultural Center, with which the gallery has a close relationship. In fact, IHAM Gallery is part of a Korean cultural organization that also operates a museum of fine arts and crafts. This opening, like all exhibitions curated by Grida, hopes to be filled with inclusive dialogue and thoughtful community engagement.
Calle Henriko IV.a 46
75004 Paris
Wednesday Saturday
2 pm - 8 pm
Galerie Data : This relatively new entrant to the French crypto art scene has been making waves, bringing in big-name digital artists like Connie Bakshi, Anna Carreras, Melissa Wiederrecht, and DistCollective. Although the gallery has significant curation in the field of creative art, founder Gabriel Deborret offers an expanded definition of the genre, including works inspired by biology, sound and poetics as much as mathematics. In the words of the exhibition: "Our programs feature themes particularly related to creative creativity, where artists from the Web3 world alternate with artists from the contemporary scene, using technology to create works of art between the tangible and the digital."
In 2022 it hosted a solo exhibition by Marcel Schwitlik entitled Signature , in which the artist "redefines the [signature] principle of automating manual work to automate tools and implement manual systems". A truly impressive development.
Next: Galerie Data will participate in the Biennale de l'Image Tangible, presenting photographic practices that aim to expand the classic definition of the medium.
26 Jules Ferry Street
Wednesday Thursday
14:00 - 18:00
Friday, Saturday
2 pm - 8 pm
Prisca Pasquier Gallery : Since opening her gallery in Cologne (Germany) in 2000, Prisca Pasquier has focused on exhibiting works that critically address the construction of the self in the digital age. The Paris satellite opened in early 2023 and has since produced a series of sophisticated and impeccable exhibits.
While not exclusively focused on certified art using blockchain technology, this popular gallery often features digital icons like Skye Nicolas and Kim Asendorf.
“Museums are already starting to add digital art to their collections through NFTs, and after the rise and fall of collectors in recent years, digital art rooted in art history is on the rise,” reflects the amiable Pasquier. "Today Paris is a meeting place for all types of art and I am very interested in communication between all media... I talk about connecting worlds, not creating new silos".
Baskir practices what he preaches and has organized three exhibitions in 2024. Try to visit him when you're in town, as he offers excellent curatorial tours.
6 rue Saint-Gervais de Couture
75003 Paris
on Tuesday and Saturday
11:00 - 19:00
Musée d'Orsay : After two years of research and planning, the Musée d'Orsay officially took its first steps on Web3 last October, when it announced its partnership with Tezos.
"As a public institution, we need to make sure that we are not seen as opportunists or speculators and that the stories we tell are coherent and anchored in our collections and how we want to reach a wider audience," Constance de Marlief, director. The international development and project of the Musée d'Orsay points out: there is already a lot to do in 'Web3' culture."
The Musée d'Orsay is piloting plans to work more closely with digital artists for a major exhibition in 2024, the 150th anniversary of Impressionism. "This is just the beginning," confirms Valerie Whittaker, head of art at TriliTech, the London-based Tezos hub that helped qualify the museum for Web3.
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Park
75007 Paris
Tuesday and Mercury; friday sunday
9.30 - 18.00
Thursday
9.30 - 21.45
Center Pompidou : The Musée d'Orsay joins the list of another iconic institution making waves in Paris' digital art scene: the Center Pompidou. Until January 24, 2024, museum visitors will be able to see the historic exhibition NFT: Poétiques de l'immatériel du certificat à la Blockchain .
The NFT-based works in this exhibition are part of the Pompidou's permanent collection, recently acquired in a prestigious acquisition. These works dialogue with the collection of 19th century art objects and show the development of artistic methods of distribution.
Hugo du Plessix, who assisted Pompidou's new media department in selecting the NFTs, said that "the selected works reflect the different ways in which artists experiment with the technical properties of blockchain, while at the same time reflecting cultural history of the medium and what it signifies."
Place Georges Pompidou
75004 Paris
Open every day except Tuesday
11:00 - 21:00
If you can't make it to Paris but want to check out the thriving French cryptocurrency art scene, check out NFT Morning, a podcast hosted by Jon Karp and Rem Peretz with the help of Simon Sohar. From Monday to Friday at 09:00 CET, you can sip your coffee to the beat of a non-stop guest list, accompanied by rotating commentary on current topics such as legal affairs (moderated by Ingrid Merry-Haziot) and digital photography. (Moderated: L'anamour), generative art (Moderated: Camille Roux), and updates on the vibrant and laudable GxrlsRevolution movement (Moderated: ART GIRLS and Jessy Jeanne).
NFT Morning began on March 7, 2021 to discuss the upcoming Christie's Beeple auction. The first episode in which Karp and Peretz speculate on the sales volume of Pebble's work is worth a listen. The show is recorded live through Twitter Spaces and also streamed on the website, which has over 560 past episodes. Karp is certainly busy and not only runs the show, but also founded the Non-Funible Conference, an annual gathering of Web3's leading thinkers and artists in Lisbon.
Speaking of conferences, if you're visiting Paris in February, be sure to check out NFT Paris. This annual conference draws huge crowds, with queues often forming around the building, and features an impressive line-up of speakers including Sébastien Bourget from The Sandbox, Maliha Abidi from Women Rise, Matt Medved from nftnow and Alejandro Navia. Future releases will not disappoint.
Note that in 2023 the digital sector will launch in ParisPhoto, which Nina Rohrs admires as a supporter of digital art. Office Impart, LaCollection and Verse Works join "a selection of nine contemporary art galleries and platforms curated at the cutting edge of new technologies", which will feature Rosa Minkman, Alexandra Art, Sofia Crespo and a star-studded lineup of artists . Anna Ridler And Deslauriers died. The exhibition will be held from 9 to 12 November 2023 at the Grand Palais Éphémère.
Large traditional art fairs like Paris+ often host Web3-related events. So when you're in town, be sure to look for exhibits that shouldn't be missed. At this past year's Paris+, for example, Marais DigitARt curator Galeria Funghi led a panel discussion on augmented reality with The Sandbox's leading artists and curators, drawing a curious crowd of over a hundred people.
Meanwhile, Kate Vass Gallery, in collaboration with French collector Didi, curated Node to Node, a ten-day pop-up exhibition featuring dynamic lectures, workshops and panels led by some of the most respected voices in the Web3 space, including Ivona Tao. , Iskra Velichkova, Marcelo Soria Rodriguez and Seefried, founder of the generative art platform fx(hash).
Josephine Lewis, founder of the Funghi Gallery, responded to an interview: "Paris is alive. The Paris of sound and light. The Paris of digital art."
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Note: I have exhibited my work at L'Avant Galerie Vossen, NFT Factory, Office Impart, and Verse Works and have spoken about blockchain poetry at NFT Morning. TheVERSEverse, the digital poetry gallery I co-founded, is a beneficiary of the Tezos Foundation.