Sipping on sweet wine, berry cocktails and the odd beer is always a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Add to that a leisurely stroll around the characterful district of the Goutte d’Or, Amadou and Mariam, a catwalk and paper making in Nepal and it must be open studios, or as the French call it ‘Portes Ouvertes’.
The popular initiative enables artists to exhibit their work independently without the expense of going through a gallery. Most of those participating in the event simply open up their homes to the general public and hang their chef d’oeuvres on the wall for the world to see.
So a ‘Portes Ouvertes’ experience not only enables you to see a whole load of art but you also get to see where people live and talk to some eager artists about their creation. The initiative started in the once bohemian district of Belleville and has since ballooned out to other districts with the next edition taking place in November in neighbouring Anvers and Abbesses.
This Goutte d’Or version had some 24 venues in shops, bars, people’s houses, a theatre, and a very forward looking church. You could also tuck into curried lamb whilst looking at art at the Navel Indian restaurant on rue de Suez.
There was a real selection of work from some very creative and poetic thinkers and it was also a chance to discover the Goutte d’Or and what goes on behind closed doors.
One such example is this artist who worked with various chemicals and paper making techniques from Nepal, Cambodia and China to create these lovely Gauguinesque collages, all from the comfort of his one-bedroom studio:
Jean-Luc Debeve
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