Les Extatiques

A 108 day artistic journey—60 years of creativity

Soundwalk Collective, Encoreunestp, Lilian Bourgeat, Fanny Bouyagui / Art Point M, Hanif Kureshi, Vincent Lamouroux, Leandro Erlich, Matteo Nasini, Pablo Valbuena

Paris La Défense, the largest business district in Europe, is also the vast-est open-air museum in France, which, throughout the years, has offered a unique creative terrain for a number of renowned contemporary artists.

In 2018, to mark its 60th anniversary, Paris La Défense is offering, from July 5 through October 21, an unprecedented artistic journey: Les Extatiques.

Fabrice Bousteau has been invited by Paris La Défense to imagine an artistic trip. Les Extatiques is the product of an encounter and an exchange between this landscape and the artists. Soundwalk Collective, Lilian Bourgeat, Fanny Bouyagui, Hanif Kureshi, Vincent Lamouroux, Leandro Erlich, Matteo Nasini, Encoreunestp, and Pablo Valbuena have been invited to take it over and reveal spaces that are sometimes less known by the public—in some cases, unveiled for the very first time—over and underneath the concrete platforms used by over 180 000 visitors each day.

Anchored in everyday life, Les Extatiques invites one-day, one-night inhabitants, or forever, to rediscover Paris La Défense through a truly unique artistic experience.

Adopting the mineral quality of this landscape and the uniqueness of its public spaces, Les Extatiques brings a sensory touch and new emotions to an urban maze interspersed with artworks both monumental and surprising, inviting each visitor to dive right in. It all creates a wellness space where everyone can dream.

Les Extatiques is a stunning, poetic interlude within the hubbub of a neighborhood in constant flux, at the heart of a Greater Paris in the making.

With Les Extatiques, Paris La Défense becomes a real key destination at the very heart of European artistic and cultural creation. A living, breathing organism, this landscape reaffirms its identity through ambitious programming, echoing the architectural boldness that is all around.

Les Extatiques is not so much an art show as it is a source of excitement generated by artists to foster wandering through this place where architecture and often-monumental works face off, making Paris La Défense the largest sculpture park in Europe.

Fabrice Bousteau, artistic director Les Extatiques

Paris La Défense is a cultural territory that is unique in the world. Amid architectural marvels created by the most eminent minds, nearly seventy major works of contemporary art proudly stand. To mark sixty years of this open-air museum, we wanted to add, for a summer, a temporary collection that echoes the creative spirit of the pioneers of La Défense.

Marie-Célie Guillaume, chief executive officer of Paris La Défense