La Biennale Paris: the end or a new start?
By Camille Hourtané
The Biennale Paris has been one of the most prestigious art fairs in France for over half a century. Inaugurated in 1959 by André Malraux, who once said, "It is necessary to the French culture that Paris remains the city of artistic patronage and freedom". Held every other year, it gathered hundreds of antiquaries, jewellers, decorators, watchmakers, artists, and art dealers from all around the world.
The Biennale Paris aimed to promote both material and immaterial art by holding a "Collection Impermanente", a collection of nearly a thousand thoughts to be read in any order, at any time.
“The only thing art cannot break free from is its history”.
“Artwork is the solidification of the artistic experience”.
However, in recent years, its reputation has been severely damaged by scandals, financial failures, and organizational issues. In 2015, the Syndicat National des Antiquaires, which has managed the fair for years, turned the Biennale into a yearly event to make it more competitive. According to the magazine Le Figaro, the fair was hit with forgery scandal in 2016, and in 2019, and then there were administrative and criminal scandals. Finally, according to bilan.ch, in 2020, the Biennale tried to revive its old popularity and partnered with Christie's to auctions off some artwork, but less than a quarter of the offered pieces sold.
Unable to recover from this trail of debacles, the Biennale Paris is being dissolved in its current form. Making a clean sweep of the past, the new president, Alexis Cassin, wishes to change the organisation, the management, and even the name of the famous art fair. He doesn't believe that making a few changes here and there can save the fair's reputation. In order to keep its spirit alive, its structure must be rebuilt from the ground up.
“They knew they needed to reinvent themselves,” Cassin told ArtNet about the fair’s old management, the Syndicat National des Antiquaires. “If they want to have back the visibility and the attention that they used to have, they need to earn the neutrality that they lost.”
As Malraux said so justly, art is capital to the French culture. Writers, actors, painters, sculptors, and artisans are well supported by the French government, nurtured by many institutions, and beloved by the public. Artists hold important clout in French society, to the point that sometimes, they can get away with morally dubious or illegal acts.
The dissolution of an art institution such as the Biennale Paris is quite a shock. But the French art scene has survived through bigger disasters. So let us hope that Alexis Cassin will be able to save the spirit of the fair and drive its rebirth towards a new, brighter future.
Camille H. (also known under the nom de plume M. H. Micah) is a freelance writer. She has written on a wide variety of topics, with an emphasis on gothic/fantasy/sci-fi stories and food, travel, sports, and society-related articles. She also works as a French-English freelance translator, covering many topics and formats. When she's not writing or reading, Camille loves travelling, hiking, and horse-riding. Find Camille on LinkedIn.