There is no difficulty in getting in 59 Rue de Rivoli by chance. The creative and multicultural vocation of this building full of art studios located in the bustling trade center of the city of Paris, is evident from the outside…
Colorful banners catch the eye of the viewer just from the nearby Place du Châtelet and invite to venture along the colorful and original spiral staircase. Like a snake that connects the floors, flooded with about thirty very different poetic universes, united all in one of the most famous squares in the world. Its original setting dating back to 1st November 1999 with the occupation of the abandoned building, that had previously hosted the Credit Lyonnais, but the centre gradually taken on a legal framework with the support of the City of Paris. Closed in 2006 then renovated and re-opened in September 2009, 59 Rue de Rivoli is now open all year six days a week (except Mondays) and is pursuing an alternative cultural policy in a cosmopolitan and multidisciplinary environment.
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To fully explore the centre we are guided by the Mexican artist Daniela Prost, a frequent visitor of the sites, after eight months in residence with a studio on the sixth floor, where she then occupied a small free space for three months and then shared another one with an Italian artist. Through her words we dive into a world that we are not necessarily expected to find a stone’s throw away of the Louvre.
A beautiful corner for experimentation and freedom of expression, in which artists not only expose the fruit of their work perpetually but also achieve the same works live, in front of the visitors, who are privileged witnesses of the creation of the works, with a lot of spontaneity and some risk : « The artist is constantly confronted by people of different origins, curious, tourists, passing friends and persons often reserve pleasant surprises, even if not always. The constant sharing in some cases can depreciate the quality, confuse the public and devalue the work of the artists ».
His description of the place is lively and exciting: “The 59 is like a big artistic family with a very convivial soul. It seems that all the artists that stayed in, are still linked to it.” Indeed it is exactly what is shown by exploring the different profiles gathered at the internet site www.59rivoli.org
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Different techniques for various characters “Welcomed into the city with great enthusiasm, especially the foreign ones, but among them competition is strong because of the large number,” as evidenced by Daniela Prost through her direct experience. The activities are connected to Galerie 59, a more traditional exhibition space, located on the first floor, which holds two exhibitions by month and many concerts.
A feeling confirmed by MUERTE SUBITA http://muerte-subita.com/the collectiveexhibition looked after by Ethel Orozco with the works of seven Mexican artists, for the most part living at the four corners of the world, with a preference for neighboring European countries: Liz Gart and Daniela Prost from France, Raoul Lopez Garcia, Rosaana Velasco and Silvano Abbarran from Germany, Manuel Delaflor from United Kingdom, Antonio Ochoa directly from Mexico and Duncan Bridgeman with the movie “Made in Mexico”. They compared us, on a common theme: “The big challenge was to minimize the distances maintaining a common aim of Muerte Subita, and to do this we focused, a very long time, especially on communication and organization. We created an exhibition that could be exported in Europe and Mexico, in the spirit of travel”.
From | www.59rivoli.org
This post is also available in: Italian
