The Nuit des Musées is always an opportunity to discover museums: for one evening, the establishments open their doors to you for unprecedented night-time visits, often free of charge. New events are regularly added to the programs that make up this not-to-be-missed springtime cultural event in Paris and the Île-de-France region.
Every year, a wide panorama of visits awaits enthusiasts and the curious alike, so that everyone can find an idea for an outing to match their desires. For the next edition, scheduled for Saturday May 18, 2024, cinephiles have a date with the Fondation Seydoux-Pathé, created in 2014.
Located in the Gobelins district of Paris, the corporate museum traces the evolution of cinema and its trades through the history of the company founded in 1896 by brothers Émile and Charles Pathé. The Seydoux-Pathé Foundation holds an exceptional collection of archives on the 120-year history of the Pathé company, its productions and its equipment.
And as for the Nuit des Musées, this 20th edition is no exception to the rule, offering a night-time program that's a great opportunity for families and friends to learn something new! Discover the program below.
RENZO PIANO-PARIS EXHIBITION
The Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé celebrates its 10th anniversary in the building designed by Renzo Piano! Through seven emblematic projects located in and around Paris, the Foundation explores the Genoese architect's vision of the Ideal City. When, in 1971, he entered a competition with Richard Rogers for a project for a museum of modern art, did Renzo Piano know that, in the space of half a century, he would be endowing the capital with the fundamental institutions that define living together? In the space of fifty years, Renzo Piano Building Workshop has created a residential building, a school, a law court, three cultural institutions, a cinema and a hospital, interweaving its light-filled, verdant constructions in forests of stone and wastelands alike. Fifty years of challenges, research and innovation also tell the story of his vision of the city: a space that serves the common good, that uplifts, protects and brings people together. Ten years after the opening of its building, the Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé pays tribute to Renzo Piano's "construction workshop", the Building Workshop founded in 1981 by the Genoese architect, by examining the issues involved in integrating each project into the fabric of the Paris region. The first floor will be dedicated to the processes of creation, reflection and elaboration. Renzo Piano's hand-drawn sketches and drawings will provide a graphic introduction to the architect's imagination and thinking. Passing through the entrance hall, which leads to the garden and the Studio (RPBW's latest project, due to open in 2021), the exhibition follows the timeline of architectural development: imagination, research, construction. On the second floor, the scenography will focus on the projects themselves, and their insertion into the city. Three tables will display models, accompanied by graphic displays of photos and building plans. The exhibition route will help visitors understand the uniqueness of each building, and situate it within the urban fabric, its environment, the landscape and its neighborhood. Finally, a film on a giant screen will offer a cinematic and dynamic approach to these different projects.
EXHIBITION ARCHITECTURES REMARQUABLES, LES CINE-PALACES
While the Cinématographe made its mark in Paris from December 1895, the same could not be said of movie theaters, which were rare in the first decade. The Théâtres cinématographiques, dedicated cinemas, began to multiply from 1906 onwards. However, cinemas were not theaters, but new theaters designed to accommodate a very large audience. Initially applied by Georges Malo, Pathé's architect, and constrained by safety measures, and then theorized after the First World War by Eugène Vergnes, the rules for building movie theaters adopted their own principles.
In the 1910s and 1920s, Paris and other major European cities built temples to the cinema, either in the Art Nouveau style or with a more classical grammar. Others stood out for their exotic decor. Most of the remarkable cinemas that made their mark on cinema-goers with their gigantism, modernity, decoration and longevity were redesigned or built from the late 1920s onwards. A plethora of architects in France erected modern palaces, ever more beautiful and majestic. Situated on strategic thoroughfares, visible by day and night with their monumental neon facades, modern movie theaters are an integral part of the city. Remarkable Architectures, les ciné-palaces takes a look at a number of landmark cinemas, from 1906 to the 1960s, when palaces were gradually supplanted by multi-screen complexes.
A not-to-be-missed evening for lovers of the 7th art.
Dates and Opening Time
On May 18th, 2024
Location
The Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation
73 Avenue des Gobelins
75013 Paris 13
Access
Metro: Place d'Italie, Les Gobelins
Prices
Free
Official website
www.fondation-jeromeseydoux-pathe.com
