Playtime in Saint Germain
June 9, 2009
While many tourists may be flocking to more traditional art institutions (the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay), in-the-know Parisians are simply soaking up the art in their own neighborhoods. That’s right… public art is on the rise in Paris, and it is all around if you keep your eyes open! This week, you won’t want to miss the final few days of Parcours Saint Germain, an annual contemporary art exhibition that takes place in sites throughout the 6th arrondissement – from designer boutiques, to historic cafés, to public squares, to the local Monoprix.
In celebration of this quartier‘s creative history and spirit, the theme of this year’s Parcours is “Playtime.” Thirty international artists have been invited to create pieces that re-interpret this theme, many of them harkening back to childhood memories and dreams. The results range from humorous to whimsical to downright bizarre… but the works are well worth visiting, if only for an excuse to stroll through this wonderful neighborhood.
Work by Shen Yuan, on display at Monoprix
Exhibits are strewn throughout the 6th arrondissement at neighborhood institutions like the Café de Flore (Guy Limone), Les Deux Magots (Gérard Pétremand), Louis Vuitton (Philippe Ramette), Sonia Rykiel (Elisa Strada), Place St. Germain-des-Prés (Tadashi Kawamata and Nicolas Buffe), and dozens of other sites. Running errands in the neighborhood has never been so thought-provoking!
Work by Guy Limone, on display at Café de Flore
Work by Sylvain Ciavaldini, on display at the Diane von Furstenberg boutique
The show runs through June 12th at various locations throughout the 6th arrondissement. You can view a map here.
For more information, visit the Parcours Saint Germain site at:
http://www.parcoursaintgermain.com/
Written by Tory Hoen
After attending Brown University and spending two years in New York, Tory bought a one-way ticket to Paris to pursue her dream of becoming a writer (and of drinking wine at lunch). During her time in the City of Light, she chronicled the euphoric highs and the laughable lows of ex-pat life on her blog, A Moveable Beast. Though she's now based in New York, she travels frequently to Montreal and Brazil, and she'll use just about any excuse to jet to Paris ("I ran out of fleur de sel"). A regular contributor to Hip Paris, Tory also writes for New York Magazine, Time Out New York, and she is a co-author of Gradspot.com's Guide To Life After College.
Website: http://www.toryhoen.com/
Tags: Add new tag, Art exhibitions paris, Art Paris, art saint germain, Parcours Saint Germain, Paris Parcours, public art paris, St Germain des Pres, tory hoen
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