Opening · 2026 edition

Opening day program

MARCH, SATURDAY 21th 2026

2pm to 7pm · Free exhibition open to all

In the presence of the artists

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MOTHER & DAUGHTER PERFORMANCE AND FEMINIST READING
Joanna Szproch
Atelier 5 — 2:30 pm and 5 pm

Joanna Szproch will complete the installation of her work in the presence of her daughter, in front of the audience. She will also read a feminist text written in response to a rejected grant application, questioning the place of women artists: recognition, access to funding and the posthumous exploitation of their work.

THE QUEER HAIR SALON
Ellen Blair
Atelier 0 — From 2:30 pm to 6:30 pm

On the occasion of her series Homemade Undercuts, which celebrates hair cutting as a moment of solidarity, care and queer expression, Ellen Blair will transform the exhibition space into a hair salon. Hairdressers will offer visitors inclusive and non-gendered haircuts throughout the afternoon.

Book your 30-minute session.

“VJ BOOK”
Ricardo Tokugawa
Atelier 7 — 3 pm

Ricardo Tokugawa will present a live audiovisual experience using printed books. He will flip through, layer and reorganise the pages in rhythm with remixed music. A camera will broadcast his gestures live, revealing the narratives that emerge from the encounter between image and sound.

BOOK SIGNINGS
Atelier 7 — From 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm

Take the opportunity to meet the artists and leave with a signed copy of their books, related to the series on display or to their previous works. Olia Koval, Rafael Roncato, Nathalie Bissig, Joanna Szproch, Mashid Mohadjerin, Ellen Blair, Davide Degano, Ruby Wallis and Konstantin Zhukov will be present to sign their books.

LIVE DRAWING
Nathalie Bissig
Atelier 7 — 3:45 pm

Nathalie Bissig will present a live drawing performance around her book Thunder. She will draw directly in her copies while the images are projected so the audience can follow each gesture and see the creation unfold in real time. Signed books will then be available for purchase.

WOULD YOU VOTE FOR ME?
Rafael Roncato
Atelier 2 — 3:45 pm and 5:30 pm

Adopting the codes of a political campaign, Rafael Roncato will highlight the mechanisms of persuasion and manipulation within political discourse. Between distributing flyers and reading excerpts from his book Tropical Trauma Misery Tour, the artist will deliver slogans and statements inspired by populist rhetoric.

OFF-SITE EXHIBITION OPENING
Claude Lévi-Strauss Library — 4:30 pm

Located just a short walk from CENTQUATRE-PARIS, the Claude Lévi-Strauss Library hosts this off-site exhibition presenting an augmented scenography and previously unseen images by one of the festival’s artists, Ellen Blair.

Guided visit with the artist at 4:30 pm.

CONCERT
T2I
Atelier 7 — 6 pm

To close the day, T2I, a rapper, composer and graphic designer from French Guiana and member of the duo T2I & NouN, will perform a concert accompanied by a guitarist. Together they will develop music with afro-amazonian sounds, echoing the series Mamman Dilo presented during the festival.

DISTRIBUTION OF TEMPORARY TATTOOS
Sadie Cook & Jo Pawlowska
Atelier 1 — Throughout the day

The duo Sadie Cook & Jo Pawlowska will distribute temporary tattoos taken from their photographs. In continuity with their series Everything I Want to Tell You, the artists will open up the exhibition space by inviting visitors to circulate their images far beyond the walls.

REVERSED SURVEILLANCE
Marcel Top
Atelier 3 — Throughout the day

Reversed Surveillance is an interactive installation that diverts surveillance technologies. Each time someone passes in front of the camera, a facial recognition system will print their portrait on a receipt, a tangible trace of your presence to take away with you.

TEXT READINGS

Throughout the day, artists will read texts resonating with their works. Ellen Blair will read an excerpt from Homemade Undercuts (2:30 pm, Atelier 0). Maximiliano Tineo will read passages from Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano (3 pm and 5 pm, between Atelier 0 and Atelier 2). Konstantin Zhukov will read excerpts from the diary of Kaspars Aleksandrs Irbe, accompanied by a soundtrack by the Latvian group Alejas (2:30 pm, 4:15 pm and 5:45 pm, Atelier 3).