Paris Makes a Bid to Steal Art Spotlight From London

Paris was crowned Europe’s preeminent contemporary art capital in October, when the international jet set descended for the inaugural edition of the inelegantly named Paris+ par Art Basel fair. (In a coup, Art Basel took the slot at the Grand Palais from FIAC, the International Contemporary Art Fair, which used to occur at the same time in the same place.) Rich collectors, museum curators, journalists and the usual chic hangers-on swanned from gallery openings to museums in a (visual) orgy of cutting-edge exhibits that would’ve been unheard of just a decade ago.

“People used to think of Paris as an old lady—a museum city only, with no blood in its veins,” says Kamel Mennour, whose gallery has four spaces in the city. “Now there’s a lot of energy and people and collectors.” This year, Paris is beefing up a combination of public and private contemporary institutions and expanding the growing network of artists living in the city. “All of the actors—the private foundations and museums and galleries and collectors—are extremely conscious of this golden age we’re living in,” Mennour says. “But we need to work hard to keep people coming to Paris, to keep it vibrant.”