Palais de Tokyo was inaugurated in 1937 on the occasion of the World’s Fair in Paris.
After some months of closing due to renovation works, it will reopen on April 12 with an enlargement of 14,000 square meters. Moreover, the museum will host the third edition of La Triennale 2012, an event focused on political and social questions – such as immigration and integration – in France. The Triennale, titled “Intense Proximité”, will be curated by Nigerian-born Okwui Enwezor and will also feature texts and photographs from Claude Lévi-Strauss’ travels in the ‘30s.
The new space will include over four floors and a basement, which had been closed after World War II. As The New York Times reports, the director Jean de Loisy said that the new arrangement will allow to host 30 to 40 exhibitions per year, with a special care for young French artists. The exhibition program will also feature international collaborations, with several artists and critics that will present multigenerational comparisons. For instance, an exhibition with the works of Julio Le Parc (b. 1928), François Curlet (b. 1967) and Cyprien Gaillard (b. 1980) is scheduled. As French culture minister Frédéric Mitterrand said in a statement, the Palais de Tokyo is “half-public, half-private, a model for the many more art centers to come”.
