France has witnessed a surge of energy in its art scene over recent years and a new generation of curators is having a significant impact on this evolving landscape. Their approach is one in which the exhibition sits within a constellation of activities – publishing, symposia, social practice, educational projects, etc. Often working at the margins outside traditional institutions, they implement new methods of conceptualizing, supporting, and working. They favor regional areas less saturated with projects which in turn offer more freedom and sometimes greater visibility.

Anna Milone’s professional path, for instance, exemplifies the cultural dynamism of Greater Paris. From 2017 to 2020, she led programs for FLAX (France Los Angeles Exchange), fostering collaborative projects like Lola Gonzàlez’s 2017 performance and film which brought together over 90 professional and amateur performers in LA’s Grand Park. Milone now directs the Centre Culturel Jean Cocteau, affiliated with the Mairie des Lilas, in the northeastern suburbs of Paris.

Rather than following a more traditional path with a large organization, upon returning to France, Milone decided to work with a small public institution with a strong local presence. This more peripheral setting grants her ‘the freedom to experiment creatively,’ while staying true to her personal values and the core principles of her work. Her involvement in collaborative projects with the residents of Les Lilas reflects this, as she works to bring them together with established figures in the art world, such as Malala Andrialavidrazana and Josèfa Ntjam. In February 2025, she will present Célestin Spriet’s film featuring testimonies from gay local residents over 60 years of age, who reflect on growing up at a time when they were obliged to keep their sexuality secret – underscoring the importance of hidden community spaces.

A similar mission drives Anna Labouze and Keimis Henni, the founders and directors of Artagon, an association supporting young artists’ professional development between Pantin and Marseille. The duo are the artistic directors of Les Magasins Généraux, a hybrid cultural center with a strong focus on emerging talents and tendencies, created by BETC in Pantin in the northeastern suburbs of Paris. They were also the curators of the first Contemporaine de Nîmes triennial in 2024. Motivated by the desire to ‘broaden the scope of art,’ they believe in social practice, which views art as a powerful tool for societal change – one that can be sometimes even more effective than other forms of action. While they often collaborate with well-known artists, their work doesn’t primarily target the cultural elite but instead focuses on formats and content designed for the communities in the neighborhoods they serve.

The attraction of the outskirts can also be explained by the intellectual opportunities it offers. Julia Marchand, who was associate curator at the Fondation Vincent Van Gogh in Arles from 2015 to 2023, and the founder in 2016 of the curatorial project Extramentale, relocated from Arles to Venice last year, where she curated the Georgian pavilion for the 2024 Venice Biennale. She explains that her decision was driven by the need to establish a physical presence in a specific location, not with the goal of creating a scene, but instead of identifying interstitial spaces that stimulate thought.

Both Arles and Venice share a seasonality that grants Marchand’s projects significant visibility during the global events hosted in these cities. However, the quieter months provide a calm environment ideal for research and development. This setting allows her to focus on long-term studies, particularly on ‘fragile’ personalities, such as those of adolescents, which she explored in depth at Extramentale. A standout project in this area was The Very Scary Forest, a video game created by Saradibiza and specially designed for the Chapelle de la Charité in Arles for the 2021 Festival Octobre Numérique – Faire Monde. The game was later featured in ‘Worldbuilding: Video Games and Art in the Digital Age’ at the Centre Pompidou-Metz in 2023.

Claire Luna’s interest in Latin America began at an early age, when the region was still relatively overlooked. After living in Peru and Ecuador, she became a curatorial assistant at El Museo del Barrio in New York before returning to Paris. She was driven by a desire to bridge these diverse scenes. Now an independent researcher, Luna’s work reflects a significant shift in perspective that shapes her approach to the field. Her research extends beyond Latin American artists, exploring a wide range of cross-disciplinary themes, such as the political and poetic dimensions of water. One notable example is ‘La rencontre des eaux’, a series of exhibitions, encounters, and performances at the Cité internationale des Arts in Paris in 2021. The concept, inspired by a natural phenomenon in Brazil, created an ‘intermediate zone’ where the various projects by resident artists could intersect. Since then, Luna has continued her exploration of water through a series of exhibitions. In 2022, she presented ‘Vagàlam’, a project that invited teenagers from Clichy-sous-Bois, in the eastern suburbs of Paris, to reflect on identity and displacement through the physical properties of water. The following year, she delved into filtration as a form of resistance and struggle with ‘Irrésistible’, an exhibition at POUSH in Aubervilliers, northeast of Paris.

All of these curators emphasize the nonmaterial aspects of their practice, both intellectually and formally. This is evident in their methods of dissemination, as seen with the duo Pierre-Alexandre Mateos and Charles Teyssou, who curated the Conversations program at Art Basel Paris for its first three editions. For Mateos and Teyssou, these talks serve as an extension of their research. They envisioned their program for the Paris fair as ‘a salon of subversion, an atlas of knowledge, and a network of solidarity.’ They emphasize the program’s strong discursive dimension, ‘This is particularly evident in the careful selection of speakers, as seen in the 2024 discussion at the Petit Palais, “The Grotesque, the Bad, and the Ugly”, for which we invited Paul Clinton, Diego Marcon, and Jamian Juliano-Villani – a choice which reflects our signature, you might even say “mannerist”, curatorial style.’

There is also considerable dialogue surrounding the work involved in supporting artists, leading to essential yet intangible exchanges. Reflecting on these insights, Labouze and Henni have chosen to structure their support in a way that nurtures artistic beginnings at all levels, leading to the creation of Artagon. More broadly, they view art as a tool for building communities, sharing knowledge and narratives across generations, and inspiring younger audiences. These goals are evident in their projects, even when they are not made explicit. For example, they organized an art fair at La Contemporaine de Nîmes with Mohamed Bourouissa, with the primary aim of rebuilding social connections in a challenging neighborhood.

Some however hesitate to pursue individualized strategies, opting instead for more collective approaches. Milone explains, ‘Discovering “community organizing” in the United States was a pivotal moment for me, prompting me to adopt a less categorized and more collective approach to my work.’ She takes on an active role within the team and maintains a horizontal, collaborative structure within the Centre Culturel Jean Cocteau. At the center, the position of artistic director is shared between Luca Avanzini, who held the role for three years before Milone’s arrival, and Thomas Maestro, an independent curator recently appointed to oversee the educational projects. All parties emphasize the importance of these exchanges and the intellectual openness they foster. This dynamic is also evident in the experiences of the duos interviewed here, who emphasize the complementary nature of their backgrounds.

Even Luna, despite her independent approach, sees her practice as deeply rooted in her involvement with several collectives and associations. These include Nicolas Bourriaud’s curatorial cooperative RADICANTS, a nomadic platform focused on bringing to light underexposed practices through exhibitions and books by independent curators; the Jeunes Critiques d’Art collective; and the c-e-a association (associate curators). In the meantime, these various groups provide her with spaces for creative exchange and help avoid one-dimensional perspectives while waiting for these practices to be embraced by institutions. Although major organizations have not yet adopted these approaches, they remain nonetheless essential. When asked about the capacity of institutions to absorb these practices, Milone is optimistic: ‘They won’t have a choice. Politically and economically, the new generations carry with them a different social project that is bound to be institutionalized.’