The Art Basel Paris fair will bring together hundreds of galleries and artists from October 24 to 26, 2025. But it's also a whole program of activities and events to be discovered all over Paris and the Île-de-France region.
In Paris museums, art often takes the form of paintings, sculptures or even videos. But during the week of the Art Basel Paris fair, there are no limits! This international fair dedicated tocontemporary art brings together hundreds of galleries and artists at the Grand Palais. It also offers a range of exhibitions for you to discover off-site.
In addition to these appointments, various events are offered alongside the fair. Open doors, exhibitions, conferences and debates, installations... A whole host of events await you, in some very unusual locations! Would you like to take advantage of all this parallel programming, from October 20 to 25, 2025? Here's a selection of events to enjoy during Art Basel Paris, the showcase for contemporary art in Paris and the Paris region.
Please note that not all Art Basel Paris events are free of charge or open to the public: please enquire at each participating venue, or consult the event details on the fair website.
Events and meetings not to be missed at Art Basel Paris 2025:
- Conversations (event at the Petit Palais)
Access to Conversations is free and open to all. We strongly advise you to reserve your place. Doors will open 10 minutes before the start of the event. You can also register on site on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Paris, yesterday and tomorrow: Marta Minujín and Frida Escobedo
Thursday, October 23, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Paris belongs to those who shape it. Argentinian avant-garde artist Marta Minujín and Mexican architect Frida Escobedo are among these visionaries. In a conversation moderated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director of the Serpentine, Marta Minujín will look back at her radical Parisian happenings of the 1960s, including La Destrucción (1963), where she set fire to her own mattress-sculptures. Frida Escobedo will present her vision of the Centre Pompidou's renovation to 2030, conceived with the Moreau Kusunoki agency. The discussion will explore memory and reinvention, destruction and restoration, and Paris' capacity to remain a laboratory of cultural transformation.
The conversation will take place in English with simultaneous French subtitles.
- Photography Now: Tyler Mitchell & Simon Baker
Thursday, October 23, 1 - 2 pm
As his first French institutional solo exhibition, Wish This Was Real, opens at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP), Tyler Mitchell joins Simon Baker to discuss photography's evolving role in the construction of cultural memory. From fashion editorials to contemporary art, Tyler Mitchell's luminous images of black people's lives, rooted in leisure, beauty and self-determination, redefine today's visual lexicon. Together, they will address questions of authorship, aesthetics and visibility at a time when images circulate faster than ever and remain deeply charged and contested. This dialogue offers a rare insight into the mind of a pioneering artist and the visual issues that define a new generation.
This conversation will take place in English with simultaneous French subtitles.
- Igniting new horizons: Cai Guo-Qiang and the Fondation Cartier
Thursday October 23, 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm
The opening of the Fondation Cartier on the Place du Palais-Royal is one of the most eagerly awaited institutional inaugurations of the year. On this occasion, its director, Chris Dercon, will talk with artist Cai Guo-Qiang, whose singular use of gunpowder and monumental explosions has profoundly expanded the language of contemporary art. Their exchange will review the long-standing relationship between the artist and the Fondation - from acquisitions in the 1990s, such as The Earth Has Its Black Hole, Too (1993), presented in the current "Exposition Générale", to his solo show in 2000 - and explore how lasting collaborations between artists and institutions can nurture new forms of experimentation.
Moderated by Art Basel editor-in-chief Coline Milliard, the discussion will also touch on Cai Guo-Qiang's major project for the Centre Pompidou, conceived at the crossroads of art, performance and urban intervention.
The conversation will take place in English, with simultaneous subtitles in French.
- Why Paris now: deciphering the French art ecosystem
Thursday, October 23, 5-6pm
What makes Paris a magnet for the global art world today? This roundtable discussion invites Centre Pompidou-Metz director Chiara Parisi, gallerist Emmanuel Perrotin and Mina Soltangheis, Director of Innovation at Wonder AI, to reflect together on how the French art ecosystem - where just over half of all exhibitions are devoted to local artists - balances national identity and international openness. The discussion will explore the intersection between institutions and galleries, and how curatorial priorities, funding structures and market mechanisms influence artistic visibility, professional trajectories and the functioning of the French art scene today.
This conversation will be moderated by Martin Bethenod.
The conversation will take place in English with simultaneous French subtitles.
- The 1990s | Yinka Shonibare CBE RA | curated by Edward Enninful OBE
Friday October 24, 1pm to 2pm
Edward Enninful OBE dialogues with Yinka Shonibare CBE RA, a British-Nigerian artist who marked the art of the 1990s with his trenchant critique of colonial legacies. He gained international recognition for his sculptures, installations and photographs reimagining European history through the prism of African identity, using Dutch wax fabric as a provocative symbol of cultural hybridity. Over the past ten years, his work has established a new postcolonial vocabulary that is as seductive as it is challenging. Yinka Shonibare CBE RA will take part in "The 90s", an iconic exhibition curated by Edward Enninful at Tate Britain (October 1, 2026-February 14, 2027).
This conversation will take place in English with simultaneous French subtitles.
- The 1990s | Sonia Boyce DBE RA | curated by Edward Enninful OBE
Friday October 24, 2:30-3:30 pm
Edward Enninful OBE will be joined by Sonia Boyce DBE RA, a British Afro-Caribbean artist and pioneer of collaborative and improvisational practice, who has been redefining notions of authorship and identity since the 1980s. Through video, sound, drawing and performance, Sonia Boyce has always placed collective creation at the forefront, frequently collaborating with other artists and blurring the boundaries between creator and audience. Her early works questioned memory, race and the politics of visibility, making her a major figure in British contemporary art. In 2022, she represented Great Britain at the Venice Biennale, where she was awarded the Golden Lion for best national participation. In this conversation, Sonia Boyce and Edward Enninful will reflect on experimentation, Black British cultural life and how collaboration can disrupt the status quo.
This conversation will be held in English with simultaneous French subtitles.
- The 1990s | Juergen Teller | curated by Edward Enninful OBE
Friday October 24, 4pm to 5pm
Edward Enninful OBE talks to Juergen Teller, the German photographer whose raw aesthetic redefined fashion imagery in the 1990s. Juergen Teller has made a name for himself with raw, instant portraits that blur the boundaries between commercial campaigns and personal narratives. Collaborating with i-D, The Face, Marc Jacobs and Helmut Lang, he introduced a visual language defined by imperfection, intimacy and irreverence. This groundbreaking discussion revisits the iconic episodes and surprising figures that shaped the raw, emotionally vibrant aesthetic of the 1990s. Juergen Teller will take part in "The 90s", an iconic exhibition curated by Edward Enninful at Tate Britain (October 1, 2026-February 14, 2027).
This conversation will take place in English with simultaneous French subtitles.
- The 1990s | Mark Leckey | curated by Edward Enninful OBE
Friday October 24, 5.30-6.30pm
Edward Enninful OBE meets Mark Leckey, the British artist whose work defined a new form of cultural archaeology in the 1990s. Mixing video, sound and sculpture, Mark Leckey explores nostalgia, technology and working-class identity with striking intensity. His iconic 1999 video, Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore, has become a cult classic, inscribing scenes from British dance floors into a hypnotic meditation on memory and becoming. With Edward Enninful, Mark Leckey looks back at how the subcultures, machines and personal rituals of that decade continue to influence his practice today. Mark Leckey will take part in "The 90s", an iconic exhibition curated by Edward Enninful at Tate Britain (October 1, 2026-February 14, 2027).
This conversation will take place in English with simultaneous French subtitles.
- Towards new futures: Kiddy Smile, Josèfa Ntjam
Saturday October 25, 1pm to 2pm
From dancefloor to screen, from speculative myth to lived resistance, this conversation brings together Kiddy Smile and Josèfa Ntjam. Voguing star, filmmaker and artist associated with Toulouse's Nouveau Printemps 2025, Kiddy Smile transposes the energy and activism of ballroom culture in his films RIDE (2024, co-directed with Jérémie Danon) and Mother (2025, in collaboration with Anne Cutaïa). Josèfa Ntjam develops a multimedia practice - between video, sculpture and artificial intelligence - to create rebellious cosmogonies blending mythology, science fiction and collective memory. Moderated by journalist Christelle Murhula, the discussion explores the intersections between the speakers' practices through the prism of cinema as a space for assembling narratives, reappropriating bodies and imagining alternative futures. Together, Kiddy Smile, Josèfa Ntjam and Christelle Murhula interrogate the power of narrative - dance, sound and digital worlds - as an act of solidarity, revolt and re-enchantment.
This conversation will take place in French.
- Mapping the rise of Arab art
Saturday, October 25, 2:30 - 3:30 pm
Since the 1990s, contemporary art has undergone remarkable growth and transformation in the Arab world. With artists from the region increasingly represented in international exhibitions, the dynamics of the art scene have changed significantly. Museums and art foundations began to acquire works, biennials were born, while contemporary art galleries, fairs, residencies and other schools emerged in many countries. At the same time, the governments of the Gulf States initiated major cultural projects. This conversation draws on Andrée Sfeir-Semler's anthology The Rise of Arab Art (collective work), published last September, to trace the development of artistic practices and institutions in an incredibly diverse and dynamic region. Featuring Andrée Sfeir-Semler, owner of Sfeir-Semler Gallery, it will be moderated by critic and researcher Kaelen Wilson-Goldie.
The conversation will take place in English with simultaneous French subtitles.
- Dialogues numériques: du code à la collection - l'art numérique à Paris aujourd'hui
Saturday October 25, 4pm to 5pm
Paris has a long tradition of welcoming and developing digital art: the artist Vera Molnár (1924-2023), a pioneer in the field, spent most of her life here, and the Centre Pompidou built up one of the world's very first collections devoted to digital media, inaugurated in 1976. Today, curators and institutions such as the Jeu de Paume are examining the cultural implications of artificial intelligence, and a new generation of artists and studios is drawing on research hubs such as ENSADLab and Ircam (Institut de recherche et coordination acoustique/musique), as well as a network of galleries and museums that are commissioning and exhibiting works created with code. This conversation brings together Antonio Somaini, curator of The World Through AI exhibition at the Jeu de Paume, and Parisian artist William Mapan to explore the city's current dynamism. What combination of institutions, funding and collector commitment enables digital practices to take root and develop?
This conversation will take place in English with simultaneous French subtitles.
- Vernissage and party | Matignon Saint-Honoré Association, Paris
Paris Art Week Opening | Association Matignon Saint-Honoré
Bringing together some thirty prestigious international galleries, the Association Matignon Saint-Honoré is organizing a lively evening showcasing the district's artistic wealth. During this open-air event, visitors will be invited to stroll from one gallery to the next, discovering original exhibitions and performances in a festive environment.
This event is open to the public.
Monday, October 20, 2025, 5-9pm
Matignon Saint-Honoré Association, Avenue Matignon, Paris
- Performance | "Spin Spin Scheherazade"
Bétonsalon - center d'art et de recherche
Performance
Written and directed by Orla Barry, performed by Einat Tuchman and Orla Barry
Deeply rooted in her activity as a shepherdess alongside her flock of Lleyn sheep on her farm in Ireland, Orla Barry's work offers a singular reflection on the living conditions of a rebellious, feminist "Bo-Peep punk", subverting the gendered stereotypes and patriarchal norms that shape representations of her milieu, sometimes idealized, sometimes invisibilized. Activated by performer Einat Tuchman, Spin Spin Scheherazade immerses the audience in a narrative blending self-fiction, poems and personal anecdotes that revisits the situations, obstacles and dilemmas Orla Barry faced when she decided to turn to a pastoral life while pursuing her work as an artist.
Highlighting both the misogyny latent in the male circles of sociability she rubs shoulders with, and the interdependence between the cycles of reproduction and sale of her sheep and the economic structures that condition their existence (selection, auction, competition, fairs), these testimonies draw parallels between the worlds of animal husbandry and contemporary art. Tinged with humor and affection, these stories open the way to new forms of solidarity, trust and mutual aid with the "companion species" that surround us.
This event is open to the public.
October 23, 7-8pm
October 24, 7-8pm
9 Esplanade Pierre Vidal-Naquet, Paris
With this program, it's impossible to remain indifferent to this week dedicated tocontemporary art in Paris! For the official program of the fair, see our dedicated article. Shall we go, friends?
Art Basel Paris 2025: the contemporary art fair opens at the Grand Palais and in Paris
The international contemporary art fair Art Basel Paris is finally back at the Grand Palais for a new and fourth edition. The event awaits you on the weekend of October 24-26, 2025. [Read more]
Art Basel Paris 2025: the contemporary art fair opens at the Grand Palais and in Paris
