ART | Tour Paris 13

When completed, a tower in the 13th Arrondissement of Paris will be the largest group Street Art exhibition ever carried out. With over 4,500 square meters of ground, wall and ceiling space, artists representing 16 different nationalities will be using every part of the building to make it into their masterpiece.

What sets this apart from other works of art is its temporal and ephemeral nature, free and open to all, with no marketing gimmick and no price tags - because at the end of the day, the building will be reduced to a pile of rubble.

Originally slated for demolition in late 2013, the "Paris 13 Tower" project was created by Galerie Itinerrance, with the support of the 13th Arrondissement City Hall, the consent of ICFHabitat La Sablière, the building's landlord and the help of 100 Street Art artists from around the world.

Also located in the 13th district, the gallery is home to well-established street artists that has helped form a culturally expanding urban dialogue since 2004. Living to the name of street art, Galerie Itinerrance has held open air exhibitions in conjunction with the City Hall to bring the "street" back into street art.

Perhaps it's a French thing but this exhibition is not your typical crowd of snobbish art curators and flowing bubbly. In contrast, this extravagant and rebellious display of street art truly lives by the definition, "by the people, for the people." The reason I say this is because, while it already defies the typical conventions of an art gallery, this exhibition is separated into 3 parts that involve human interaction.

Its digital form is both immersive and collaborative through its audiovisual output. This output can be seen online on their website and features exclusive content from artist interviews to an original soundtrack in collaboration with Radio France for an engaging experience.

The physical building will be open to the public until November 1st where only the website and application will be publicly available. These few days will be critical to the recording of these works as the audience will be asked to help save the art virtually click by click, pixel by pixel. After 10 days, the site will be up again but only with what has been salvaged.

As a metaphorical message to the public, this exhibition serves to remind us the beauty and importance of street art and its ephemeral nature. Because of this, it is ultimately through our actions that this project can be saved. Still not convinced?

Check out their website for the full experience!

Tour Paris 13
5 rue Fulton, Paris 13e
Métro Quai de la Gare line 6

Open to public from October 1 to 31, 2013
Tuesday to Sunday, from 12pm to 8pm
Open from 10am to 8pm starting from October 18