Art Paris celebrates its 25th anniversary under the sign of committed art

Art Paris 2023 opens its doors tomorrow in the capital. For this anniversary edition, the fair, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, is once again focusing on strong and current societal themes. Through contemporary works, the artists will deliver a vision of the world committed.

An edition in the air of time. Art Paris, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, brings together 134 galleries from 25 countries from March 30 to April 2, 2023 at the Grand Palais Éphémère. Founded in 1999, the fair, organized by France Conventions, proposes to clear and explore modern and contemporary art.

The 2023 selection features a 33% renewal of the exhibitor list (i.e. 43 new galleries compared to 2022) with the continued presence of major galleries that have established themselves in the fair. 60% of exhibitors are French and 40% foreign. This makes it possible to showcase the wealth of French galleries, from major names to lesser-known regional galleries.

Commitment and exile

The fair has turned to themes that cross society and the field of contemporary creation. In 2022, it chose art and the environment, and in 2023, it will focus on the subjects of commitment and exile. Biases that have only one purpose: to celebrate the art engaged. Marc Donnadieu, independent curator, has composed a selection of 20 artists to explore the way they look at the notion of commitment.

“If art doesn’t change the world, there are works that resist and oppose the blows in their own way”, says Donnadieu. “Works that force insight, emancipation, empathy and force us to open our eyes to art as well as to the world, their history or their current events.”

The other theme inspiring the works of the fair is exile, through “dispossession and resistance”. This theme, entrusted to Amanda Abi Khalil, another independent curator and founder of TAP (Temporary Art Platform) in Beirut, highlights a selection of 18 international artists.

“Leaving a place does not mean not being there. Exile, whether chosen or forced, is always suffered”, explains Amanda Abi Khalil. “In a current context of heightened migratory tensions due to wars, economic and climatic crises, this thematic line proposes to approach exile as a complex, porous and personal process, in order to understand it beyond its strictly geographical or identity-based connotation.”