11 Rue Béranger, 75003 Paris

The third edition of Paris Internationale continued the effort to support a young generation of galleries and their artists. The adhered to the spirit of the first two editions, but saw a complete departure from their aesthetic by exchanging the ornate settings of the hôtels particuliers on Avenue d’Iéna for a converted multi–storey car park in the Haut–Marais that housed the headquarters of Libération, a newspaper co-founded by Jean-Paul Sartre in 1973 in the wake of the Paris protest movements of May 1968, for almost thirty years.

In this context, that resonates with current challenges to journalism and urban development, Paris Internationale welcomed 55 galleries as well as eight project spaces from 17 countries. Responding to the current climate of art fairs in regard to artistic production and reception, Paris Internationale is a joint initiative from five emerging galleries – Crèvecoeur, High Art, Antoine Levi, Sultana and Gregor Staiger – as a collective attempt to develop an appropriate model for fostering new advanced initiatives in contemporary art.

From its inaugural edition, Paris Internationale has supported the major contribution of non-profit spaces by inviting them free of charge to take part in the fair. This year Paris Internationale will welcome eight Parisian non-profits to promote and celebrate their often fragile existence.

In Paris, these structures constitute the avant-garde of our local art scene and play an active and engaged role in the city’s dynamic complexity. Paris Internationale wishes to acknowledge this engagement by inviting eight Parisian spaces – Caro Sposo, Goton, Sans Titre (2016), Section 7 Books, Shanaynay, The Cheapest University, Tonus, Treize – to exhibit at the very center of the fair, along the spiral ramp which in essence acts as the spinal column of the building.

Public Programs:

The public programs of this third edition have been organized by The Cheapest University. Since 2015, The Cheapest University organized collaborative work events in Paris for both emerging and established international artists to discuss and work together in a modest and loosely pedagogical way. Laying its foundation with questions rather than solutions T.C.U. has formed its own distinct version of what can perhaps be described as an ‘Art School’.

On the occasion of Paris Internationale, The Cheapest University proposed a new curriculum titled, “What’s in my Bag…?”. Inspired by the eponymous Youtube channel, this program, which focused on the problem of the narration of the self, was driven by the current security-driven political climate in which bags of citizens are systematically inspected. The Cheapest University invited a group of artists and non-profit spaces to engage publicly within Paris Internationale for the entire duration of the fair. Organized as an amalgamation of lectures, panel conversations and public conferences, What’s in my Bag…? took part over five days, from October 18th until October 21st, in an attempt to generate inquiry and ignite a collective reflection.