20 Little Cities » may 2009

William Blake retrospective at the Petit Palais in Paris

admin — Fri, 22 May 2009 21:00:50 +0000

This is France’s first William Blake retrospective since 1947. Major museums such as the British Museum, the Tate Britain, the National Gallery of Scotland, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Louvre Museum, as well as private collectors, have lent their works for this retrospective. The show gathers over 150 pieces by William Blake, including drawings, paintings, etchings and books. There’s also a little treat a the end of the show signed by Francis Bacon.

April 2 - June 28, 2009
William Blake at Musée du Petit Palais - Musée des Beaux-Arts de la ville de Paris
Avenue Winston Churchill
75008 Paris
tel: 01.53.43.40.00
Metro: Champs-Elysées - Clémenceau

Tues-Sun: 10am-6pm (until 8pm on Thursday)
(Ticket window closes 15 min before closing time)
Closed on Monday

Cold War Kids in Paris at La Cigale

admin — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:46:51 +0000

Cold War Kids—Matthew Aveiro, Jonathan Russell, Nathan Willett and Maust—released their latest album Loyalty to Loyalty in September 2008. They are touring Europe this Spring with their new songs and will perform at La Cigale in Paris on May 27, 2009.

May 27, 2009—8pm
Cold War Kids at La Cigale
120 Boulevard Rochechouart
75018 Paris
tel: 01.49.25.81.75
Metro: Anvers, Pigalle

Alexander Calder at Beaubourg: his Parisian years (1926-1933).

admin — Sun, 10 May 2009 22:13:39 +0000

During his first five years in Paris, Calder created and showed one of his most important works, the miniature Calder’s Circus. It is back in Paris for the first time since 1970. The figures and objects made for the Circus led Calder to make his first sculptures that used only wire, as seen in his series of animal figures and portraits of well-known personalities (Kiki de Montparnasse, Josephine Baker…) Calder’s encounter with Mondrian lead to a shift in his work: his paintings and wire sculptures turn to abstraction. It is the beginning of his mobiles: linear metal construction, simple geometrical shapes and colored spheres or motifs in sheet metal. Displayed over two levels, this show gathers over 300 sculptures, paintings, drawings, toys, photographs and films. It is the first show to be wholly devoted to Alexander Calder’s years in Paris.

March 18 - July 20, 2009
Alexander Calder at Centre Pompidou
Place Georges Pompidou
75004 Paris
tel: 01.44.78.12.33
Metro: Rambuteau

M-Sun: 11am-11pm
(Ticket window closes at 10.30pm)
Closed on Tuesday

Eros vinyl records exhibit at the Musée de l’érotisme in Paris

admin — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:59:07 +0000

Lovers of sexy record covers, this show is for you. The Musée de l’érotisme in Paris tells the story of eroticism through 120 record covers that span 60 years.

April - October 9, 2009
“Eros Vinyles” at the Musée de l’érotisme
72 Boulevard de Clichy
75018 Paris
tel: 01.42.58.28.73
Metro: Blanche

7/7
M-Sun: 10am-2am

Le Petit Nicolas: a comic book’s anniversary in Paris.

admin — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 08:44:33 +0000

Fifty years ago, René Goscinny (writer of Asterix and Lucky Luke) and Jean-Jacques Sempé (illustrator) created Le Petit Nicolas. Le Petit Nicolas is a French iconic comic book whose protagonists are main character Nicolas, a nine-year old boy, and his classroom friends. The adventures of Nicolas are told from his point of view and often involve some kind of drama. Le Petit Nicolas exhibition in Paris commemorates the fifty-year anniversary of the comic book, and pays homage to its creators. Over 150 original drawings by Sempé and 10 unseen manuscripts by René Goscinny who died in 1977 are being shown here. At its opening, the exhibit has drawn over 3000 people in two days! It smells like adult nostalgia in Paris. Francophiles will not want to miss this.

March 6 - May 7, 2009
Le Petit Nicolas at the Hotel de Ville de Paris
5 Rue Lobau
75004 Paris
tel: 01.42.76.40.40
Metro: Hotel-de-Ville

M-Sat: 10am-7pm
Closed on Sunday

Calvin Harris in Paris at l’Alhambra

admin — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 23:49:50 +0000

Calvin Harris, the man who reinvented disco, says: “Disco disappeared, didn’t it? Everyone got sick of it. Now I’m reviving it, with space goggles, or something.” Acceptable in the 80s is the kind of tune that sends you straight onto the dance floor and keeps you there. That was 2007. While 2009 should see the release of his second studio album, Calvin Harris is currently touring Europe to promote his new single I’m Not Alone. It’s different and it sounds good.

May 11, 2009—8pm
Calvin Harris at l’Alhambra
21 Rue Yves Toudic
75010 Paris
tel: 01.40.20.40.25
Metro: Jacques Bonsergent, République

Dance finals at the Dance Conservatory of Paris

admin — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 01:20:39 +0000

Keep an eye out for the finals at the dance conservatory of Paris: the CNSMDP (Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique et de Dance de Paris.) You can attend a free two hour performance—the Certificat d’Interprétation exam— with the judges on the premises. The final grades are posted an hour and a half later. The Certificat d’Interprétation en Danse Contemporaine is the fifth year exam and it takes place over two days: first day is the contemporary dance session and the second day is the classical dance one. The representations are divided in two parts: first the duos in which one or both students are being graded and then the final part gathering all the students in one piece.
This a student show and it is free and open to the public. Reservations need to be made at the time of the examination, early May, by email at: resadanse@cnsmdp.fr

Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris
209 Avenue Jean-Jaurès
75019 Paris
tel: 01.40.40.45.45
Metro: Porte de Pantin

The Ting Tings in Paris at the Bataclan

admin — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 10:00:07 +0000

The very popular British duo Jules de Martino and Katie White—also known asThe Ting Tings—is coming to France. The Ting Tings will be playing at the Bataclan in Paris and their shows are selling very fast. Their two April shows are sold out but there’s one left on May 7, 2009. HURRY UP. Tickets can be purchased on the Bataclan website and are 27,40€. If you miss them in Paris you can always catch them up in Bordeaux (Krakatoa), Lyon (Transbordeur), Bourges (Printemps de Bourges) or Strasbourg (Artefacts festival).

May 7, 2009—8pm
The Ting Tings at the Bataclan
50 Boulevard Voltaire
75011 Paris
tel: 01.43.14.00.30
Metro: Oberkampf