“In a few months a skyscraper will rise where Modigliani, Soutine, Foujita and countless “montparnos” created some of their masterpieces” The Intransigent, March 5, 1967.
In 1960, the urban renewal of the Montparnasse district began. The City of Falguière, a privileged space that has seen the development of local and international modernity since the 1870s, is gradually being destroyed. Artists rebel, the community fights. In vain. In a few years, the thirty or so artists' studios gave way to residential buildings; only two survived the demolitions. L'Atelier 11, is today the last workshop still in operation, welcoming artists since its creation at the end of the 19th century. A Serbo-Russian artist, Mira Maodus lived and worked in Atelier 11 from 1979 to 2021, preserving her vocation as a creative space.
In order to continue the artistic heritage of the workshop, the association L'AiR Arts, whose mission is to support intercultural exchanges through programs of artistic residencies, Launched the project to create an international arts research residency at Atelier 11. Together, AiR Arts and the Cité Falguière Association intend to restore and promote this international site and ensure its sustainability for future generations. The reopening is scheduled for 2023, in a renovated and sustainable setting, in order to continue offering opportunities for intercultural exchanges, in line with the Paris School.
The exhibition "Neighbours" will open the way to exploring what it means for artists to live and work abroad. By being part of a global community, artists draw on their stories, cultural experiences and memories while practicing far from home.
The artists of the exhibition engage in an evolutionary discussion on Atelier 11. The project is based on how artists collaborate and on networks, distance and proximity. Based on the history of the Cité Falguière, the exhibition focuses on the participation of artists from all over the world, who have interacted with Atelier 11 or not. The focus is on the connections and connections that are linked through a commitment to history, historical thinking and the principles of an artist’s residency: commitment, learning and sharing.
By thinking in a transnational, global and virtual way, works of art are based on the diversity of practices that can be engaged, thanks to the recognition and respect of our neighbours, past and present.