What's Happening in Paris This Week

For full details about an event, click on the title to visit the official Web site (in English when available).

Note to readers: Paris currently has a 7pm curfew. “Essential” shops (including food stores, hairdressers, bookstores, florists and chocolate shops!) are open, but art galleries, museums, theaters, cinemas, restaurants and cafés remain closed until May 19. See below for online and a few live events.

 

Through May 31

Women of film

Portraits of trailblazing female directors will hang on the railings of the Hòtel de Ville for Les Femmes S’Emparent du Cinéma.

Hòtel de Ville, Paris
Through 9 June

Les Chats des Champs-Elysées

Twenty comical, surreal sculptures of Belgian cartoonist Philippe Geluck’s famous “Le Chat” line the Champs-Elysées for Le Chat Déambule. 

Les Champs-Elysées, Paris
May 19-July 26

Iranian film

Iranian film director Abbas Kiarostami is celebrated in a retrospective of his work. Above: The director at home © D.R.

Centre Pompidou, Paris
May 18

New Irish literature

Contemporary Irish novelist Donal Ryan is in conversation at the Centre Culturel Irlandais.

Online
Through June 6

Corps pur

For Les Corps Purs, each featured artist made drawings using a single medium. Above: one of Katerina Christidi’s untitled charcoal-on-canvas drawings. Click here to reserve.

Centre d’Arts Plastiques, 20,coursive Georges Mélliès, Aubervilliers
Through May 30

Free photography

Six exhibitions of work by renowned Italian photographer Frank Horvat will be on display in the streets of Vincennes in lieu of the canceled Vincennes Images Festival.

Vincennes, Île-de-France
June 11-18

Abstract art

Painter Charles Giai-Gischia presents a group of recent works in the exhibition Pentimento: l’Espace Raccommodé.

Au Quize, 15 avenue Parmentier, Paris
May 13

Home movies

Lost in Frenchlation presents Tout Simplement Noir (Simply Black), directed by Jean-Pascal Zadi and John Wax.

Online
Ongoing

More home movies

Each week, indie production company MK2 presents a selection of films from its collection to stream online for free.

Online
Ongoing

A poet’s life

The Musée Paul Valéry presents a series of 15 videos, posting daily, celebrating the life of the poet, author and writer Paul Valéry.

Online
Through June 27

Online exhibition

Les Beaux-Arts de Paris presents Le Dessin Romantique, a selection of drawings from the collection of Jean Bonna. Free to view online.

Online
Ongoing

Stroll through Baudelaire’s Paris

Follow this guided walk through the Paris locations that shaped the life of famed poet and Parisian Charles Baudelaire on the occasion of his 200th birthday.

Various locations, Paris
Through July 4

Women’s Paintings

Virtual tour of the Musée de Luxembourg’s exhibition Women Painters 1780-1830.

Online
Ongoing

Napoleon takes center stage

Exhibitions, reenactments, academic conferences, art – there’s something for everyone in the Chateau de Fontainebleau’s rich program of events commemorating the death of Napoleon on the island of Saint Helena 200 years ago.

Chateau de Fontainebleau, Île-de-France
Through September 2021

Lockdown life

Artist Jeanne Susplugas presents work reflecting on how our relationships with our homes have changed in the past year for Where My House Lives. The viewer is invited to peer through 12 windows, each showing an illustrated and narrated piece about a different person’s life and space.

Online
Ongoing

Online gallery

Galerie Templon presents a digital edition of Correspondances, the story of contemporary artist Gérard Garouste’s encounters with writer Franz Kafka and philosopher Marc-Alain Ouaknin.

Online
Through May 22

Another online gallery

Galerie Les Filles du Calvaire presents an online viewing room for visual artist Kenny Dunkan’s first exhibition: Keep Going! The exhibition combines performance and visual art to explore Dunkan’s Guadeloupean heritage.

Online
Ongoing

More online art

The Musée de Grenoble presents an online guided tour of an exhibition of work by Italian still-life painter Giorgio Morandi.

Online
Ongoing

Save the Musée de l’Éventail

A crowdfunding campaign is underway to help save the Musée de l’Éventail, Paris’s museum of fans and fan-making.

Online
Ongoing

Movies from Japan

The Maison Européenne de la Photographie is launching Les Soirées Ciné: each week, a film associated with its forthcoming exhibition, “Moriyama – Tomatsu : Tokyo,” will be streamed.

Online
Through May 28

Street art

For the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Commune de Paris, the city presents a number of street art exhibitions throughout the arrondissements, starting with Nous la Commune, with art by Dugudus.

Paris, France
Through January 2022

Curated by artists

Twenty-four exhibitions conceived and curated by students at the École de Beaux-Arts will be on show for the next 10 months for Le Théâtre des Expositions. The first five exhibitions can be viewed through photographs online until the coronavirus situation changes.

Online
Ongoing

Live from the Louvre

The Musée de Louvre presents a program of events – concerts and conferences about the museum’s history and collections and  – streamed live on the Louvre Youtube channel.

Online
Through June 18, 2021

Online photography exhibition

The Grand Palais and Bibliothèque Nationale present an online version of their Noir et Blanc exhibition, charting the evolution and significance of monochrome photography. In French only. Price: €4/€8.

Online
Through May 31

Open-air gallery

Bercy Village presents an exhibition of 30 posters from the career of celebrated French comic actor Louis de Funès, free to view throughout the shopping village.

Bercy Village, Paris
Ongoing

Art behind the scenes

For L’Oeil du Parcours, Parcours Saint-Germain presents weekly Instagram Lives with artists from studios and private exhibitions.

Online
Ongoing

Cultural events on TV

France Télévision is launching Culturebox, a new TV channel that will broadcast live and recorded cultural events.

France
Ongoing

Live performance

The Théatre de la Ville presents a series of dance, theater and music shows, broadcast live on YouTube.

Online
Ongoing

Guided tour

The Musée du Quai Branly presents a three-part guided tour of the major exhibition “The Olmecs and the Civilizations of the Gulf of Mexico” via Youtube.

Online
Ongoing

All about Alberto Giacometti

With museums remaining closed for the time being, L’Institut Giacometti presents a range of background videos, roundtables and performances related to its upcoming exhibition on the relationship between Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti and Samuel Beckett.

Online
Ongoing

Hidden film stars

The Musée Sacem presents an online exhibition, Devine Qui Vient Doubler?, focusing on those who do the work of dubbing and subtitling films.

Online
Ongoing

Poetry online

The Maison de la Poésie is hosting lectures, interviews and readings on its social media.

Online
Ongoing

Impressionism

The Festival Normandie Impressionisme invites viewers to revisit the festival through an online photo album.

Online
Ongoing

Art of Migration

Streaming of works by migrant artists in France from the postponed Festival Visions d’Exil.

Online
Ongoing

Women migrants’ history in pictures

The National Museum of Immigration presents online images of women migrants from the exhibition “Les Femmes en Mouvements.”

Online
Ongoing

Art on film

For 25 Arts Seconde, the Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles presents a series of films by and about artists.

Online
Ongoing

Photography in quarantine

The Maison Européenne de la Photographie presents masterclasses, lectures and interviews with artists on its website and social media while the gallery remains closed.

Online
Ongoing

Indie films

The Cinémathèque Française is screening some unusual films from its catalog online (free).

Online
Ongoing

Free classes on French topics

Pandemonium U presents free Zoom classes in English on such topics as the role of small French villages in helping refugees and the death of Resistance hero Jean Moulin.

Online
Ongoing

More art from home

The Centre Pompidou presents its first virtual exhibition, devoted to Miró.

Online
Ongoing

Get creative at home

The Centre Pompidou presents a wide range of videos, including visits to exhibitions, spotlights on artworks and periods, and a series for children.

Online
Ongoing

More art at home

The Palais de Tokyo offers interviews with artists and behind-the-scenes content on its YouTube channel for Palais à la Maison.

Online
Ongoing

More virtual art

The Grand Palais offers live lectures, virtual exhibitions and more on its website and social media.

Online
Ongoing

Paris museum podcasts

Brighten up a lockdown walk with a podcast produced by Paris Musées.

Online
Through June 2021

Discovering art history

Learn how to appreciate and analyze art in its historical context in a range of masterclasses offered by Les Paris de l’Art 2020/21.

Various locations, Paris & Online
Throughout Lockdown

French film with English subtitles

Lost in Frenchlation has teamed up with Eyelet so users can watch independent French films directly on its website. First film is free.

Online
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