The magazine of Palais de Tokyo, in the inaugural issue of its new formula, tells the story of over seventy years of artistic life (special issue).
Built for the 1937 Exposition Internationale in Paris to house the Musée National d'Art Moderne, the Palais de Tokyo has had a checkered history. Over seven decades of the history of the visual arts in France have come to be written through the openings, multiple renovations, and changing uses of the building. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the Site for Contemporary Art has occupied the Palais de Tokyo, left unfinished after the planned Palais du Cinéma was abandoned at the end of the 1990s. In 10 years, under the stewardship of its successive directors, Nicolas Bourriaud and Jérôme Sans, then Marc-Olivier Wahler, it has become an essential actor on the international art scene.
In April 2012, an extended Palais de Tokyo will open its doors. With its 22,000 square meters of space renovated by the architects Lacaton & Vassal, it is broadening its mission to display the French scene in an international context. A new Palais de Tokyo, a place to explore, inhabited by artists, where, in the words of Jean de Loisy, its new president, “we do not work on art but with art, and it works on us.”
The magazine Palais, in the inaugural issue of its new formula, tells the story of this epic adventure in texts and images. Through several testimonials, interviews and multiple unpublished documents, it invites you to discover over seventy years of artistic life within the Palais de Tokyo.
Published twice a year, Palais magazine offers an in-depth perspective on the exhibitions and program of the Palais de Tokyo. Palais allows people to see contemporary art in a topical way, as often as possible from the point of view of the artists themselves. Each issue of the magazine includes dossiers, interviews, essays, special projects and inserts, all contributed by artists, art critics, historians or theorists, making Palais magazine an essential tool for apprehending contemporary art.