In my last visit to Paris right before Christmas I was lucky to come across just by chance with one of the best art exhibitions that I've been able to enjoy in the last years. When walking from Belleville/Menilmontant (I really love that area) to La Villette, I passed by again a beautifult piece of modern architecture of the 70's, a building at Place du Collonel Favian that has always caught my eye but on which I'd never searched for information before. Well, I learnt that day that this building was built by Oscar Niemeyer in the 70's (and appropiately is called "Espace Niemeyer"), and hosts the headquarters of the Parti Communist Francaise. Furthermore, it also hosts art exhibitions (or even fashion shows to allow the party to raise some funds). This time there were some posters of an art exhibition, Temps Suspendus, dedicated to Urban Exploration and abandoned/derelic places.
The exhibition was just amazing. It presents 75 pieces by 3 photographers/explorers: Romain Veillon, Sylvain Margaine and Henk Van Rensbergen. The pics have been taken all over the world, but Belgium, France and Italy are by far the most represented locations (2 of the authors are French nationals, 2 of them live in Belgium...). Belgium is so present that one could think of it as one of the hottest spots for this kind of photography, which makes sense as one can imagine that the economic decline of Wallonia resulting from the lost of importance of coal mining and steel works (being Asturian that quite rings a bell...), has given place to a huge number of abandoned buildings. Notice anyway that one of the most impressive pics corresponds to the Stock Exchange of the wealthy city of Atwerpen.
Other than the content, the container is particularly pleasant. As I've said the external part of this Oscar Niemeyer building is pretty interesting, a nice 70's office building, but what is really outstading is the underground conference center(surrounded by the exhibition space).
The ancient building at this location was the seat of the Antifascist International Comittee where volunteers enrolled in the International Brigades. This plaque set by the Communist Party honoring these heroes is a powerful reminder of how at times of horror Humanity is able to produce dignity and courage, whether in Europe in 1936 or un Rojava in 2016.
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