Paris Calling

23 contemporary art venues in London, Oxford and Margate showing 121 artists of 20 different nationalities

The idea behind Paris Calling

Paris Calling sought to put London and Paris back in touch when it comes to contemporary visual art; to give gallery owners who may not otherwise have thought of looking to Paris the opportunity to do so and to create opportunities for curators on either side of the Channel to exchange ideas and working practices and collaborate on shared projects, in the hope that these links will lay the foundations for long-term collaboration between the two cities.

How did Paris Calling happen?

Between 2003 and 2006, the French arts office funded around 50 research trips for British curators and gallery owners inviting them to visit France and visit galleries and artists’ studios, meet with fellow professionals.

Those curators and gallery owners who found something they were interested in taking further were invited to organise an exhibition in the 2nd half of 2006, under the umbrella of Paris Calling. 23 curators and gallery owners joined this initiative, from spaces as large as the Tate Modern and the V&A to the East-End’s most eclectic galleries.

For more about Paris Calling including full exhibition listings, participating venues, press cuttings and images, visit our archived Paris Calling website.

Beyond the Sea

Beyond the Sea was our first project putting into practice the idea of multilateral collaboration we have sought to develop strategically over the past few years.

Beyond the Sea was an initiative organised jointly by the Arts office of the French Embassy, Arts Council England South East and Visiting Arts.

In July 2005 a mixed British/French group of 12 performing arts programmers ranging from independent producers to programmers of large-scale international festivals were invited to travel together to the Dhow Countries festival in Zanzibar, to see work from East Africa and the Gulf states, make professionals contacts with artists and programmers working in the region and with each other and to form a network of professionals with shared interest in the region.

Follow-up meetings were held in Grenoble in December 2005 and in Brighton in May 2006.

Links:

Arts Council England

Visiting Arts

France Moves, 2005

In collaboration London’s famous dance festival, Dance Umbrella, 11 French contemporary dance companies performed in London within Dance Umbrella’s 3705 festival. To see the full programme, visit Dance Umbrella’s archived website.