Art Paris returns to the Grand Palais with a bold meditation on language, care and contemporary creation

Each spring, Paris offers a moment where the art world pauses, reflects and recalibrates. In twenty twenty six, that moment arrives once again as Art Paris returns to the Grand Palais for its twenty eighth edition, bringing together more than one hundred and sixty galleries from over twenty countries for four days of dialogue, discovery and cultural exchange.

Running from the ninth to the twelfth of April, with a VIP and press preview on the eighth, Art Paris continues to strengthen its position as the leading spring fair for modern and contemporary art. This year’s edition unfolds around two ambitious curated themes that speak directly to our time. Language as a system of meaning and repair as an act of care.

Art and language in contemporary France

Curated by Loïc Le Gall, Babel Art and Language in France brings together twenty two artists selected from participating galleries whose practices explore the structures, ambiguities and circulation of language.

From the materiality of letters to the tension between text and image, the works presented examine how meaning is constructed, translated and sometimes destabilised. Moving between figuration and abstraction, the exhibition positions art as a living laboratory where language is tested, reimagined and repurposed. It is an invitation to reconsider how words and symbols shape our understanding of the world, both individually and collectively.

Reparation as resistance and continuity

The second curated theme, Reparation, is led by Alexia Fabre and brings together twenty international artists whose work engages with the idea of repair across time, memory and material.

Here, reparation is not framed as a single act, but as a sustained practice. One that involves mending, preserving and reactivating stories that risk being forgotten. The works explore care, resilience and reinvention, acknowledging historical wounds while proposing new ways forward. At times visible, at others almost imperceptible, reparation becomes a way of engaging with both personal narratives and collective histories.

A platform for emerging voices

Art Paris continues its strong commitment to emerging practices through the Promises sector, dedicated to galleries established less than ten years ago. This year, twenty seven young galleries will take part, presenting fifty six artists, more than half of whom are women.

Over half of the participating galleries are exhibiting at Art Paris for the first time, with a balanced mix of French and international spaces from Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and Australia. Supported by reduced exhibitor fees, Promises remains one of the fair’s most vital sections, offering a clear view into the future of contemporary practice.

Monographic focus and design expansion

Interwoven throughout the fair are twenty four monographic exhibitions, offering visitors the opportunity to engage deeply with individual artistic visions across modern, contemporary and emerging contexts.

Following the success of its inaugural edition, the French Design Art Edition also returns in expanded form. Curated by Le French Design directors Jean Paul Bath and Sandy Saad, the sector will host eighteen exhibitors showcasing one off pieces and limited series that blur the boundaries between art, design and the decorative arts.

Addressing historical absence through collections

Developing the theme of reparation further, the Fonds d’art contemporain Paris Collections will present a dedicated display questioning the traces of twentieth century colonial heritage within municipal collections. Curated by head curator Julie Gandini, the presentation highlights artists from Africa, the Caribbean and South America who have historically been underrepresented in French public collections.

Presented by the Ville de Paris, this is the only public collection on view among the exhibiting galleries, reinforcing Art Paris’s role as a space where institutional reflection and contemporary practice intersect.

Prizes shaping the cultural landscape

Art Paris twenty twenty six will also see the return of major prizes that support artistic careers and design excellence. The BNP Paribas Banque Privée Prize will award forty thousand euros to a living artist active on the French scene, selected from the Babel exhibition.

The Her Art Prize, renewed in partnership with Marie Claire and Maison Boucheron, will honour a woman artist with thirty thousand euros and an international promotional campaign. Meanwhile, the Le French Design Prize will celebrate one hundred interior design projects that have contributed to the global influence of French creativity.

A fair rooted in reflection and exchange

With forty percent international galleries, thirty percent first time participants and an increasingly multidisciplinary program, Art Paris twenty twenty six positions itself not simply as a marketplace, but as a forum. A place where historical reflection, emerging voices and contemporary concerns meet under the vast glass roof of the Grand Palais.

In an art world often driven by speed, Art Paris continues to make space for depth. For conversation. And for the belief that art remains one of the most powerful tools we have for understanding language, memory and the ongoing work of repair.