Step into the darkness… explore these “wild” works with a flashlight!
Installations Les Ateliers d’Artistes de Belleville (AAB) is presenting, for Nuit Blanche 2026, a route both outside and inside their gallery around the theme: Wild Nights… or Almost. In the exterior windows of the AAB gallery, a fresco/collage will introduce the immersive collective installation inside. In the gallery, visitors equipped with a flashlight will move through the half-light of a “forest of totems/trunks,” whose wildness will emerge from the works placed around, between, or inside these trunks: hung, wrapped, suspended, bursting forth…. Wild nights between the known and the unknown, places of danger as well as refuge. Inner nights from which a disruption of our rational worlds can emerge in each of us, like “weeds” intruding into our planted beds. Myths of transformation, the promise of renewal and rebirth: in short, a space where fear, fascination, and hope come together. Curated by Marie Fargeot, Sylvie Lardet, Thierry Page and Chi Phan. The association Les Ateliers d’Artistes de Belleville (Les AAB) today brings together more than 250 artists and 23 collectives, all working in the visual arts and based in the Belleville neighborhood of Paris. Founded in 1989 out of artists’ desire to take a collective place in the urban landscape and safeguard spaces for creation, it works to showcase artists’ work and the cultural richness of Belleville. The association works to make art accessible to everyone, organizes numerous events throughout the year (exhibitions at the AAB gallery, open studios, participation in various artistic events, off-site exhibitions, international exchanges), and over time has built a different and privileged relationship with the public. In a spirit of openness, AAB’s involvement contributes to the cultural and economic renewal of a cosmopolitan, working-class neighborhood and, alongside other associations, residents, and shopkeepers, helps preserve the identity of this neighborhood.
Source: paris.fr — photo: Thierry Page