Heralding in spring, the Quai Branly Museum near our hotels has two new exhibitions blossoming onto the cultural scene.

Objects – Ways of Seeing – Archeology, ethnology, avant-garde takes a look at the avant-garde magazines published between the two World Wars, notably Cahiers d’art (1926-1965), Minotaure (1933-1939), and Documents (1929-1930), which redefined the role of objects as part of contemporary art.

And Golden Thread – The Art of Dressing From North Africa to the Far East shows how gold has been used in clothes since its discovery 7,000 years ago ans, a symbol of wealth and status from the Maghreb to Japan…

Pablo Picasso, André Breton, Joan Miró, Brassaï… all mixed contemporary art with ancient influences, non-Western art, and used the juxtaposition of the popular and banal. Their works featured in influential magazines between the two World Wars, defying the era’s traditional definition of what an art object should be.

The exhibition Objects – Ways of Seeing shows how these artists helped break down the barriers between types of art and helped art to evolve, spotlighting the actions taken by archeologists, ethnologists and avant-garde artists.

Linked with the exhibition, there is a free talk (in French) with the curators on 13th February at 6pm, and a selection of publications are available to peruse in the Jacques Kerchache reading room (exhibition ticket not required).

The exhibition runs until 22nd June 2025.

The exhibition Golden Thread adds itself to the list of great fashion exhibitions currently on in Paris (Louvre Couture, Dolce & Gabbana, The Flowers of Yves Saint Laurent…) but with a specific apporach that you will not find elsewhere – numerous dresses adorned with real gold, the most precious and noble metal in the world.

A major contribution comes from Chinese designer Guo Pei, with one dress that took fifteen people 5 years to complete, and another with 10,000 gold sequins, constructed by eight people during 20,000 hours.

You’ll also be able to admire Bulgarian shrouds for the dead and shinig kimonos from Japan, together with golden-woven silks from Indonesia and India.

An impressive quantity of related events are being organised around the exhibition, including workshops, visits (for families, with storytellers…), concerts, the royal ballet of Cambodia on 8th & 9th March (25€ / 15€) and a special evening on Friday 14th March (until 1am!) with a DJ, concert, dance lessons, Q&A’s, a masterclass, guided visits…

The full programme can be found here, and a special playlist from ethnomusicologist Renaud Brizard is available on Spotify and Deezer to soundtrack the exhibition for you.

Golden Thread – The Art of Dressing From North Africa to the Far East runs until 6th July 2025.

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The exhibition Objects – Ways of Seeing – Archeology, ethnology, avant-garde is at the Quai Branly Museum (here) until 22nd June 2025, and Golden Thread – The Art of Dressing From North Africa to the Far East until 6th July 2025

Open every day except Mondays from 10.30am-7pm (10pm Thursdays)

Admission: 14€ / 11€

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Une publication partagée par musée du quai Branly (@quaibranly)