Visual Arts FOCUS Paris-Lyon
During the week of the Art Basel Paris modern and contemporary art fair and the Lyon Biennale d'art contemporain, a delegation of 18 international professionals (directors of private foundations, institutions, Biennales, exhibition curators) identified by the French cultural network abroad and the Institut français is invited to discover the effervescence and dynamism of France's art scene.
Program
PARIS
For five days, FOCUS will feature a program of exhibitions and artistic events in the field of contemporary art in Greater Paris. Participants will benefit from an exceptional program that will enable them to discover the ecosystem of the French art scene, punctuated by visits to artists' studios, art centers, foundations, museums, galleries and Tram network venues, as well as meetings with Prix Pernod Ricard and Prix Marcel Duchamp artists. They'll also enjoy the diversity of fairs during the week, including Paris Internationale, AKAA, Asia Now and, of course, Art Basel Paris at the Grand Palais.
LYON
Participants will also be able to attend the 17th Lyon Biennial. Created in 1991, the Lyon Biennial has established itself as France's leading contemporary art event. The guest curator for this new edition, Alexia Fabre, Director of the Beaux-Arts de Paris, wanted to place the values of altruism and welcoming others at the heart of her program. Entitled “Les voix des fleuves Crossing the water”, the Biennale will be held in Lyon from September 21, 2024 to January 5, 2025. The project draws on the natural and human geography of the area, as well as on the spirit of the Biennial's new venues, the Grandes Locos and the Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie. These sites, of which macLYON is the most historically linked to the Biennial, are permeated by the question of relationships and welcoming others. The artists echo the singular voices of these places, their narratives as well as their social characteristics. These places of construction and repair, of care and hospitality, of attention to the other, reveal as many destinies as forms of relationship - traditional, invented, hoped-for.
Participants in the Visual Arts FOCUS Paris- Lyon
- Carolina LOCH, Director of Implementation, International Museum of Art in Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná (Brazil)
- Thiago DE PAULA, Co-curator, São Paulo Biennale, São Paulo (Brazil)
- Vessela NOZHAROVA, Associate curator, Sofia Art Fair, Sofia (Bulgaria)
- Adelina VLAS, Curator in chief, The Power Plant Art Center, Toronto (Canada)
- Xianhe KONG, Artistic Director, Le Centre d'art Rodin, Shangai (China)
- Yang BEICHEN, Director, Macalline Center of Art, Beijing (China)
- Julie Leopold ALF, Director and founder, Enter Art Fair, Copenhagen (Danemark)
- Emma ENDERBY, Director, KW Museum, Berlin (Germany)
- Shintaro MATSUNAGA, Curator in chief, Yokohama Museum of Art , Yokohama (Japan)
- Magda RADU, Artistic Director, “Salonul de proiecte" Art Center, Bucharest (Romania)
- Karin OEN, Director, NTU Center for Contemporary Art (Singapore)
- Alvaro Rodriguez FOMINAYA, Director, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León - MUSAC , Castilla y León (Spain)
- Noura AL-MAASHOUQ, Director, SOMACA Museum, Riyadh (Saoudi Arabia)
- Je Yun MOON, Project Director, ArtSonje Center, Seoul (South Korea)
- Anna-Karin WULGUÉ, Director, “Färgfabrik" Art Center , Stockholm (Sweden)
- Soumaya JEBNOUNI, Director, “Central" Art Center, Tunis (Tunisia)
- Christine EYENE, Curator, Tate Liverpool, Liverpool, (United Kingdom)
Visual Arts FOCUS
FOCUS is a major attraction program developed by the Institut français since 2010, covering all creative sectors. FOCUS is a scouting program aimed at foreign arts professionals, to raise awareness of the vitality of France's artistic scene and help it to be better known around the world.
Since 2010, they have successfully generated:
- The distribution of over 180 French artists
- More than 165 exhibition projects worldwide
- 323 international curators invited to France