Connoisseurs of contemporary art know this address all too well: the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain has been a must-see art center for 40 years now. Through its exhibitions, we discover and rediscover a wide range of artists, both French and international. This foundation has stood out for its original programming, housed in monumental spaces that accommodate monumental works.
We can therefore expect a memorable lineup this Saturday, June 6, 2026. On the first Saturday of June, the Fondation Cartier takes part in the new edition of the Nuit Blanche in Paris. Yes, it’s truly an exceptional free late-night event waiting for us in this temple of Parisian art!
Each year, for one very special evening, Nuit Blanche opens the doors to a host of museums, monuments, and art centers, as well as libraries, churches, parks and gardens. This cultural event puts contemporary art in the spotlight in all its forms. Curious locals and art enthusiasts seize the night to soak up concerts, performances, installations, exhibitions, and shows...
So what's on the program at the Fondation Cartier for this Nuit Blanche 2026? Without further ado, here are the events lined up:
Painting, Drawing, Photography, Video, Installation, Sculpture, Exhibition
For this 25th edition of Nuit Blanche, the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain will exceptionally stay open until midnight (last entry at 10:30 PM). Visitors are invited to discover or rediscover Exposition Générale and to experience an immersive program in its auditorium, featuring a musical lineup.
The evening unfolds along the routes and conversations that accompany this year’s theme as we explore Exposition Générale through the lens of love, attention, and our relationship to others. Free tours, conversations with on-site mediators, and “Flash” tours—renamed for the occasion “Coup de foudre” tours—every 30 minutes invite a fresh look at the works through the prism of connection and attachment, while a workshop open to all offers a moment of artistic practice to do alone or with friends.
In response to the night’s chosen theme, the Fondation Cartier extends its dialogue with the architectural and historical heritage of its new building through the Architectural Odyssey project. This project revives the spirit of the 2000s discotheque once housed in Le Louvre des Antiquaires, conceived by Ora Ito as a futuristic environment inspired by science fiction. Created in collaboration with Matéo Garcia Studio (sound design) and Matière Noire (lighting design), this immersive program fills Studio Marie-Claude Beaud, where light and sound structure the space and stage the architecture.
The Valois Gallery, the former commercial gallery linking the current Palais-Royal – Muséum du Louvre metro station (lines 1 and 7) to the historic Grands Magasins du Louvre, is also accessible until midnight. It hosts an extension of Raymond Hains’s project: the work in progress. From the Grand Louvre to 3 Cartier, extending to Place du Palais-Royal.
Free admission for all, with online reservation via the Fondation Cartier’s ticketing site.
Architectural Odyssey
for everyone
from 7:00 PM to 11:30 PM
Auditorium open to the public (limited capacity) — Studio Marie-Claude Beaud
“Coup de foudre” tours
for everyone
from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM, every 30 minutes
To mark Nuit Blanche, the Fondation Cartier invites visitors to explore Exposition Générale under the banner of love, attention, and our relationship with the works. After dark, the festival’s hallmark Flash tours—guided introductions to the exhibition—are transformed into “Coup de foudre” tours.
Covering four decades of contemporary creation across the globe, these tours offer a gentle, attentive reading of the artworks. They invite closer, more intimate engagement, a pace that is slower, more open, and more receptive. Some works express frenzied affection; others arise from close collaborations—friendly or artistic—where the connection fuels creation. Some installations are more immersive, inviting a shared experience for two, three, or more, while others stand as true declarations addressed to their subjects.
Driven by the cultural mediators, these short tours offer a fresh interpretation of the works and provide an opportunity to discover or rediscover Exposition Générale through the lens of artistic infatuation, dialogue, and sharing.
Free with reservation, they fit flexibly into the overall visit, subject to capacity.
Gestures of love & objects to share
Open workshop
for everyone, subject to capacity
from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM, continuous at La Manufacture
On the occasion of this new Nuit Blanche, the Fondation Cartier invites visitors to discover La Manufacture, its new space dedicated to visual practice and gesture-based mediation.
From 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM, the workshop invites exploration of ex-voto practices—symbolic offerings that, across cultures, express attachments, hopes, and personal impulses.
Accessible continuously, this introductory workshop invites everyone to design an object from simple materials, in a free, no-prerequisite approach. Participants can join at their own pace, for short or longer sessions as they move freely through the space.
The Foundation is expected to draw a large crowd, so arriving early is advised to make the most of this special after-hours night.
Dates and Opening Time
On June 6, 2026
Location
Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain
2 Place du Palais Royal
75001 Paris 1
Prices
Free
Official website
www.fondationcartier.com
