VINGT Paris News

Manifestation - Art Protest Monday 29th April Palais-Royal

Text: Rooksana Hossenally

Calling all in the arts sector! Artists, delegates, curators, gallery owners, part-timers, full-timers, flexi-timers, directors, administrative members, festival organisers, associations, and curious lay people.  The national protest is against reforms, to be discussed on Monday at the Senate, which would arguably undermine the autonomy of regional arts groups.  There are coaches leaving from large French cities such as Lille, Lyon, Brest, Rennes/Caen, Dijon and Rouen.

Flyers have been distributed, emails sent out, and the myriad associative and official websites have all posted the PDF flyer indicating the details: ‘BIG PROTEST IN PARIS TO DEFEND ART AND CULTURE ON MONDAY 29th! MARCH’ You can download the flyer. 

Ni Putes Ni Soumises Dresses Marianne in a Burqa

Text and photo: Sarah Braasch

Ni Putes Ni Soumises (NPNS -- Neither Whores Nor Submissives) organized a rally in defense of women’s rights, at the Place de la République, in Paris, France, on Saturday, March 6, 2024, at 12 pm.  NPNS is an international human rights organization that advocates on behalf of women’s rights as universal human rights without compromise.  Two professional rock climbers draped a giant burqa over the “Equality” pedestal figure of the Marianne statue in the center of the Place de la République.  All of the participants dressed as Marianne in her distinctive, red Phrygian liberty cap.  Marianne is the national icon and symbol of the French Republic’s foundational values of liberty and equality.  The rally was held in honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024.  The President of Ni Putes Ni Soumises, Sihem Habchi, roused the crowd with a speech.  She proclaimed, “For this generation, the crucial issues are secularism, gender equality and gender desegregation, in order to create a feminist movement based upon living together in harmony throughout the world, and not only in France.”

Jeudi-Noir Open Doors at Place des Vosges - La Marquise

Text: Joanna Bronowicka
Photo: F. Guillot

This Saturday, February 20, from 2pm to 8pm, the activists from an association Jeudi-Noir are opening doors of 1 bis place des Vosges. The building has been abandoned for 44 years until the activists from Jeudi-Noir chose it for a site of occupation to raise awareness about the housing issue in Paris. They have recently lost their case in court and were expected to pay a 10.000 Euros fine until January 25 for their occupation and 25.000 every month starting from that date. They have decided to appeal and ask for meditation with possible re-housing. Meanwhile, the building has become a rich cultural site, which hosts film screenings, rehearsals, meetings, seminars and workshops.  Every Monday the inhabitants propose a film screening about a different theme.

The program for tomorrow includes expositions of photos, paintings and sculptures with the support of artists from 59 rue de Rivoli, concerts, including the group Jolie môme, guided tours focused on the history of the building and much more. For more information visit the Facebook site of the association. Enter the building through 11 bis rue Birague, Métro Saint-Paul.

Calais: Gimme Shelter

Via Schnews and Calais Migrant Solidarity  - It's been a harsh winter in Calais so far with police arresting over 100 migrants, destroying camps and raiding squats countless times in the last month. In the freezing wet conditions of a French January, police have been slashing tarpaulins, seizing blankets and closed the one night shelter that had briefly opened to offer 150 of the estimated 300 Calais migrants respite from the weather and constant police harassment.

Ni Putes Ni Soumises Organizes a Protest Against the Burqa

Text and images: Sarah Braasch

Ni Putes Ni Soumises (NPNS), a women’s rights organization located in Paris, organized a protest on Monday, January 25th, against the burqa and in support of an anticipated parliamentary bill to ban the burqa in France.  NPNS was created as a response to the egregious violence being perpetrated against the women and girls of the cités or quartiers in the banlieues (ghettoized suburban housing projects surrounding France’s major cities that are predominantly composed of marginalized Muslim immigrant communities).

The burqa is a full body covering while the niqab is a face covering, which exposes only the eyes.  The potential law to ban the burqa and the niqab in public spaces and buildings has been a hotly contested issue in France for many months. The Parliament has been investigating the matter, including the possible effects of a ban.  Recently, France’s Socialist Party, the opposition party, revealed their intent to vote against any law banning the burqa and/or niqab in public. 

Ni Putes Ni Soumises Organizes a Protest for Rayhana

Text and images: Sarah Braasch

Rayhana, a French-Algerian playwright and actress, was attacked last week in front of the theater in Paris where she is performing her provocative play, “At My Age, I Still Hide My Smoking”.  Rayhana speaks out against Islamism and obscurantism and the Muslim culture of female oppression in Algeria.  Her play takes place in a hammam in Algeria and portrays nine women sitting together and discussing their daily lives.  The two men who attacked Rayhana grabbed her from behind, forcing her to the ground, and poured gasoline over her head and in her face, momentarily blinding her, and then attempted to set her on fire by throwing a lit cigarette on top of her head.  Prior to this incident, Rayhana had been harassed verbally.  Despite the attack and the threats of violence, Rayhana is determined to continue performing her play.  She has received many offers to stage performances from theaters throughout France, in response to this outrageous criminal act. 

Musée Carnavalet - La Révolution Française, Trésors Cachés

Text by Brendan Seibel 

Louis XIV stands alone in a barren courtyard surrounded by evidence of renovation. A stark introduction to the Musée Carnavalet is fitting preparation for the special exhibition La Révolution Française, Trésors Cachés. This rarely shown collection of over 200 pieces follows the chronology of the French Revolution as presented in three acts: The Fall of the Monarchy; Republic Jacobine; The Directory.

Maison des Métallos

Anna Bromwich writing for VINGT paris, photo courtesy of G@ttoGiallo

Maison des Métallos is perhaps best described as a cultural venue with a social conscience. It’s various spaces stage exhibitions, theatre and concerts with strong political themes and host creative workshops for young and old alike. The Maison also holds public debates, philosophy lectures and collaborative events with local associations. It also supports creative and research projects which establish links with the local community.

This Brechtian mixture of the cultural used for social purpose befits a building which started life during the industrial revolution as the first factory to manufacture brass musical instruments. In 1936 it became the headquarters of the steelworkers union, thus inaugurating its current name. Until 1997, when the Mairie de Paris bought it, Maison des Métallos ran syndicate meetings, trade workshops for the disabled and unemployed and a clinic in much the same community spirit as it's contemporary incarnation.

Join VINGT at 59 rue de Rivoli - L'Aftersquat

Originally a squat occupied by the KGB (Kalex, Gaspard and Bruno), three artists have been at the forefront of the renovation of 59 rue de Rivoli and attracted many more to the group (an Association Loi 1901).

In days gone by the squat was threatened with expulsion even though it was allegedly the third most visited contemporary art venue in Paris. Ten years passed between legal issues and renovation and finally, on September 9 the centre re-opened with a new name "L'Aftersquat", under Paris City Hall sponsorship.

Danielle Voirin, a photographer who has documented the lives of many of the artists through a long-running project, covered the opening.  Join VINGT Paris for a special visit to 59 Rivoli/L'aftersquat and meet 22 artists from 10 different countries.

Sunday September 27th at 6:00 p.m. 

Barack Obama in Paris

Dorothy's Gallery is organizing an exhibition / event in favor of Barack Obama with the support from Democrats both in France and in the US.

Le Comité Français de Soutien à Barack Obama, comprised of 5000 members (such as Bernard Henry Levy, Duhamel, Frédéric Mitterrand, Jack Lang, Richard Serra,…) is an equal partner of the show.

Several cartoonists, from the Canard Enchainé and Charlie Hebdo, will participate. The list includes Honoré, Tinious, Wolinski, Charb, Wozniak, Riss, Jul, Honoré … along with other American cartoonists.

The exhibition will also include paintings, photography, sculptures, video and installation pieces created by a selection of French and American artists.

Dorothy's Gallery
27, rue Keller
Paris 75011