An Enterprising Group of Paris Dealers Are Teaming Up With Non-Profits to Expand Into the City’s Suburbs. But Will Visitors Come?

A group of eight Parisian galleries and institutions are
inaugurating a new complex for arts and culture this fall under the
name Komunuma (Esperanto for “community” or “commune”).

But the new hub, set to open during the FIAC art fair in
mid-October, won’t be in any of the Parisian neighborhoods that saw
an influx of young dealers in recent years, such as Belleville or
the streets around Les Halles, now attractive thanks to the planned
opening of the Pinault Collection at Bourse de Commerce next
year.

Instead, galleries Jocelyn Wolff, Imane Farès, Galerie Sator,
Air de Paris, and In Situ Fabienne Leclerc are setting up shop in a
former manufacturing plant in the borough of Romainville, a
15-minute metro ride outside city limits.

In addition, the longstanding artists’ association Jeune
Création and the hotly anticipated new Paris branch of France’s
national public collections (FRAC Île-de-France) will also relocate
to the refurbished, 118,000 square foot complex in the coming
months. The developer Groupe Fiminco’s own arts foundation,
Fondation Fiminco, will run a residency program on site.

Because of its size, Komunuma can also offer artists
larger-scale as well as outdoor exhibition opportunities—a rarity
in Paris. But what prompted the move? A mix of opportunity and
necessity, say Fabienne Leclerc and Vincent Sator, representing the
group of gallerists.

“Parisian mid-sized galleries are not exempt from the pressure
[of closures] as attractive spaces are more and more difficult to
find,” they say. “Some of us had the experience of running spaces
close together on the rue Louise Weiss in the 1990s and enjoyed it
a lot.”

A chance encounter at FIAC four years ago between Leclerc and
Gerald Azancot, an old friend and real estate developer, led to the
opportunity to establish a shared gallery complex at the
Romainville site. While Leclerc and Air de Paris are relocating
completely, other dealers will keep their central Paris spaces
open, at least for now.

Unlike other shared spaces where galleries only synchronize
their openings and perhaps split some costs, Komunuma has the
potential, despite its decentralized location, to draw an audience
beyond habitual gallery-goers thanks to the public institutions on
site. “For the first time in France, public and private activities
will collaborate,” Leclerc and Sator say, adding that they would
occasionally open on Sundays to accommodate new audiences.

But ultimately, it is the galleries’ responsibility to generate
footfall. “We believe that an interest in what is new, the
different identities of our respective programs, and the quality of
our events will incite people to visit us regularly,” Leclerc and
Sator say. “In terms of the gallery’s economy, we mostly make sales
by appointment or during fairs.”

What’s In Store

For their inaugural exhibition, Air de Paris is holding a group
show of their 40-artist roster including pieces by Trisha Donnelly,
Liam Gillick, Michel Houellebecq, and Sturtevant, among others.
Galerie Imane Farès will show Brussels-based, Congolese artist
Sammy Baloji, while Galerie Sator has given carte blanche to Swiss
artist Christian Gonzenbach. Galerie Jocelyn Wolff will hold a
group exhibition centered on a new work by German artist Clemens
von Wedemeyer,

FRAC Île-de-France director Xavier Franceschi, meanwhile, has
big things in store for the new location, which is one of three for
the institution across the Île-de-France region. (The other two are
in Paris and Rentilly.) In Romainville, the aim is to make works in
collection of 1,700 works more accessible.

“We are launching a totally unprecedented project called ‘Exit
the Storage!’’’ he says. “It will provide the public with an
opportunity to choose and earmark works from our database [that
will then go on view]. Several museums have undertaken this type of
project with the public—particularly involving drawing
departments—but this is a real first on such a scale and involving
an entire collection.” 

Joachim Pflieger, director of the Fondation Fiminco, which was
launched in 2017, says the aim is “to gather private, public, and
non-profit actors from the art world” to join the cultural
district. (Groupe Fiminco owns the land on which Komunuma and an
adjacent shopping and leisure district are developed; the dealers
and non-profits are on long-term leases.)

The private foundation’s 11-month residency program will launch
in 2020 with 18 international artists. In addition to hosting
open-studio events and talks, the foundation will also open La
Chaufferie, offering an free exhibition
program. 

“One of the strengths of this project is quite simply that these
various protagonists will be gathering in one location,” Franceschi
says. “This coexistence will no doubt result in real synergy. There
is a great deal to be done whether in terms of projects, meetings
or activities aiming to draw our diverse publics closer.”

The post An Enterprising Group of Paris Dealers Are Teaming
Up With Non-Profits to Expand Into the City’s Suburbs. But Will
Visitors Come? appeared first on artnet News.