La Colonie (Art Space)

La Colonie was an independent cultural venue located in a former textile factory in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, near the Gare du Nord train station.[1][2] It was founded by French artist Kader Attia and restaurateur Zico Selloum in 2016.[3] It closed in March 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

La Colonie
LocationParis, France
TypeArt center
Genre(s)Contemporary art
OpenedOctober 2016
Closed2020
Website
lacolonie.paris

History

La Colonie opened on 17 October 2016, to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the Paris Massacre of 1961, in which hundreds of National Liberation Front Algerians demonstrating for Algerian independence were killed by the French National Police.[4][3]

In March 2020, La Colonie closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] Because La Colonie was dependent on revenue generated by its ground floor bar and café, it did not recover financially from the closure and has remained closed.[5] Founder Kader Attia has indicated that the venue will persist but in a smaller, more affordable space in the Paris suburbs.[5]

Programming

La Colonie was a multi-use space and functioned as a café and agora, in addition to a forum for workshops, lectures, readings, screenings, and art exhibitions with a focus on marginalized artists, thinkers, and activists whose work addressed issues of colonialism, racism, and cultural appropriation.[4]

Notable exhibitions included:

  • Opaque to herself: Poland and postcolonialism, November 2019 – 15 January 2020, curated by Joanna Warsza[6]
  • The Trials of Justice, 29 May – 30 June 2019, curated by iLiana Fokianaki[7]
  • Noria: Investigative grounds on violence and the state, 18 May 2019[8]
  • Return of Fordlandia, an open-air archive, 13–25 November 2018[9]
  • Discreet Violence: Discreet Violence: Architecture and the French War in Algeria, 19 June – 14 July 2018, curated by Samia Henni[10]
  • CARACAS RESET, 15–17 May 2018[11]

References
  1. Nayeri, Farah (25 February 2019). "We Need to Talk About Colonialism, This Artist Says". The New York Times.
  2. "La Colonie, le bar-agora du 10ème". Paris ZigZag | Insolite & Secret (in French).
  3. "Kader Attia to Close Paris's La Colonie, Independent Center Devoted to Decolonial Theory". Artforum. 21 July 2020.
  4. "Kader Attia Opens La Colonie Art Space in Paris". artnet News. 18 October 2016.
  5. "Artist Kader Attia 'heartbroken' as Covid-19 forces closure of his decolonial Paris art hub". theartnewspaper.com. 22 July 2020.
  6. Institute, Dutch Art. "La Colonie in Paris presents: Opaque to Herself. Poland and postcolonialism. An exhibition organized in collaboration with the Ujazdowski Castle Centre of Contemporary Art in Warsaw. From 19th november 2019 to 15th january 2020". dai.
  7. "The Trials of Justice". e-flux.com.
  8. "Noria à La Colonie: Terrains d'enquête sure la violence et l'État" (PDF). noria-research.com (in French). Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  9. "Retour de Fordlandia – Exposition et colloque à Paris". AMC Archi (in French). 12 November 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  10. "Samia Henni: Discreet Violence: Architecture and the French War in Algeria | Cornell AAP". aap.cornell.edu.
  11. "Arte Al Día". es.artealdia.com.
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