The Paris Chapter: 12-18 June
Cliff diving, climate tech, hyper-realistic sculpture, 20 questions to the world, French is Beautiful, and sneaky VivaTech side events.
“J’ai été jeune jusqu’à hier” (I was young until yesterday) - said an old man on turning 90*, the phrase immediately tattooed upon my being**.
As we swing into summer (the météo seems to be nothing but high twenties from here out), it can easily feel like being on a carousel picking up speed (La Valse à Mille Temps the soundtrack): more picnics, more Seine-side apéros, more outdoor cinema (coming soon!) and on and on, the days passing faster and more frenetically.
This week’s art salve is a good reminder to try to forge some pauses and purposeful check-ins; a long-favoured phrase - and its many meanings - coming to mind: This will all be over soon.
I absolutely adore deep questions, and moving forward will pepper these editions with ones you can demand of yourself and/or deploy to get to know someone else better.
* Philippe Bouvard for Le Figaro, 2019
** It infused a Flow Prose piece I wrote on ephemerality
Art salve
Ron Mueck, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain (14e)
Mass is momentous, 100 giant-sized human skulls (together weighing five tonnes) stacked upon another in apparent disarray. It’s the Australian sculptor’s third exhibition at the Fondation, his bare-bones main attraction set alongside notable examples of his hyper-realistic work.
The exhibition proves an emotive contemplation on the journey of life, with the raw, shocking intensity of birth (A Girl) and the collective anonymity of death placed adjacent, with but a brief passageway between them.
11€ full price admission, www.fondationcartier.com
Keep on rollin’...
If you’re keen to see more hyper-realistic sculpture, walk up to Galerie Vallois in Saint-Germain, where John DeAndrea currently has a showing
To dive deeper into mortality, head to the nearby Catacombs, the final resting place of six million Parisians
French resource
What does “J’en ai marre” mean, or "Tu as eu du bol”? Anne Le Grand, creator of Parlez-Vous French, has rounded 100 idiomatic French expressions up into a handy e-book, making sense of phrases you’ve likely heard but which escape a literal translation.
Neatly organised by the 10 most common verbs, this will fast become an invaluable resource.
What’s on
Mon 12
(Fruit) Fly me to the moon, Reid Hall (6e), 6.30pm
The latest from The Paris Institute x Columbia Global Centers ‘Conversations on Consciousness’ series, this edition exploring the nature of attention. Can you pay attention while asleep? Hang out with the neuroscientists to find out.
[EN] Free. Registration required
Wed 14
VivaTech, Porte de Versaille (15e), through Sat
Europe’s biggest start-up and tech event has Elon Musk, Marc Benioff, leading AI scientists and the CEOs of companies such as TIME, Paypal and L’Oreal on this year’s roster. The program spans climate tech and building future societies through to Web3 and - what else? - the metaverse.
[EN] 620€ for a 4-day pass. Buy tickets
Chocolat de Claire Denis, La Fémis (18e), 7.30pm
The first film from the acclaimed French director (Beau Travail, High Life) is receiving a special screening, telling the “inspired by a true story” tale of a white couple in pre-independence Cameroon, whose lives are disrupted by the passengers of a plane that crash lands on their estate.
[FR] Free. Registration required
Thur 15
The Climate Tech Frontier, Bpifrance (9e), 8.30am
Fun fact: you can attend VivaTech’s side showings without holding a ticket to the main event. This breakfast tackles the innovation breakthroughs necessary in the next 20 years, examining the current state of the European climate tech ecosystem and the challenges that can be addressed today.
[EN] Free. Registration required (limited spots remaining)
L’Apéro Questions, Ground Control (12e), 5pm
20 Questions to the World have spent the past seven years posing their set list of queries to people around the globe, with the goal of promoting social cohesion (the 30,000+ responses have indeed demonstrated that we’re much more similar than we may think). This evening lowers the barrier to spontaneous conversations, offering the questions as a way to get to (truly) know new people.
[FR/EN] Free. Registration required
Power Impact Talk, L'Appart de la Villette (19e), 7pm
Perfectly timed to this week’s theme, this coaching workshop is titled “June 2023, how are you doing?" The evening offers a networking happy hour and a 90 minute workshop with top techniques for turning your dreams into projects.
[FR] Free, but food/beverage consumption required. Reserve your spot
Sat 17
Journée Grand Public, Porte de Versailles (12e), from 10am
Interested in the future of tech, but not keen to pony up for a 4-day pass? Head to VivaTech’s public day, where entrance is a fraction of the price (note that the programming here is all in French).
[FR] 20€ full price. Buy tickets
Journée Internationale du Yoga, Le Wagon (11e), 10am - 5pm
Lululemon is hosting a full schedule of free wellness classes, as an early celebration of International Yoga Day. The line-up includes a guided meditation, soundbath, self-massage and more.
[FR] Free, but first come first served. Reserve your place
French is Beautiful gathering, American Church (7e), 1pm
Carrie Anne James, creator of the popular French is Beautiful online language school, is hosting a community gathering featuring a 30 minute talk, guided meditation and the opportunity to connect.
70€. Buy tickets
Jacqueline in Paris book launch, Reid Hall (6e), 7pm
Ann Mah’s latest novel imagines the intellectual and aesthetic awakening of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, illuminating how France would prove to be her one true love, and one of the greatest influences on her life.
[EN] Free. Registration required
Sun 18
Red Bull Cliff Diving, Port Debilly (16e), 2.30 - 5.30pm
Cliff diving with a casual Eiffel Tower backdrop? Red Bull is hosting its World Series in Paris for the second year running, with 24 elite divers performing jumps at 85 km/h, from a 27 metre-high platform over the Seine.
Free. Location map
Transat Sonore, Ground Control (12e), 3 - 9pm
A meditative music bath that pulls from the frontiers of science and nature, mixing field recording, data sound and ambient music to help you slide into Sunday night.
Free.
Learn how you can help shape The Paris Chapter. If you found this edition useful, I’d love if you could spread the word!
Thanks for being here,
Jenni