Art in Crisis or the Crisis of Art?

Paris City Hall
21–22 October 2020

This event takes stock of the state of art worldwide and offers a programme tailored to the contexts challenging art in the twenty-first century.

“La Rentrée de l’art” provides an opportunity to award the Biennale de Paris Prize to an artist playing a decisive role in the art of our century. Faced with the health, ecological and social crises we are experiencing, we have two possibilities: disappear or invent. Inventing means accepting that art must turn the impossible into a project and the project into reality.

“La Rentrée de l’art” sets out to meet this challenge by inviting artists and people from across society to discuss their approaches and develop synergies for the future. Those involved in art can no longer ignore pressing societal issues. They must be able to propose new ecological, economic and educational models that place freedom, diversity, otherness and singularity at the heart of contemporary debate.

By creating a space for encounters between people working in art and those in other sectors, “La Rentrée de l’art” addresses the challenges of the twenty-first century by positioning art as a vehicle for innovation, social transformation and emancipation.

Programme

Wednesday, 21 October 2020

5 p.m.
The State of Art Today

5:30 p.m.
In What Ways Is Art Superior to the Art Market?
Art Speed Dating — Part 1

6:30–7:30 p.m.
Why Do Art Schools Promote Mediocrity?
Art Speed Dating — Part 2

8 p.m.
Cocktail Reception

Thursday, 22 October 2020

5–6 p.m.
How Can We Define an Art Freed from the Idea of Art?
Art Speed Dating — Part 3

6–7 p.m.
Is the Failure of the Art Institution Inevitable?
Art Speed Dating — Part 4

7–7:30 p.m.
Future Directions for Art in Paris and Worldwide
Presentation of the Biennale de Paris Prize

8 p.m.
Cocktail Reception