Autumn arrives in France

The switch to winter time and the drop in temperatures have confirmed it: after an endless summer of heat, autumn has indeed arrived in France, with its dances of fallen leaves and its accompanying cultural events. Proof in ten carefully chosen outings by us, throughout France.

November celebrates contemporary photography

The month of November will, as every year, be dedicated to the exploration of contemporary photography, especially as it coincides with the bicentenary celebrations of its invention. At the Grand Palais, the Paris Photo fair will bring together 199 specialized galleries from 12 to 15 November, while numerous satellite events will take place in parallel.

Unusual exhibitions in Paris

Among the most unusual, one can discover the tiny exhibition of the biennale of the Petite Photographie, which gathers the small formats of eleven photographers in a four-square-meter gallery on the rue de Seine. Or again the exhibition "Nadar, inventing Paris, from the depths to the sky," in the new space dedicated to temporary exhibitions at the Catacombes de Paris.

Biennale honors Augustin Lesage

At Béthune, Auchel, Burbure and Ferfay, Augustin Lesage at the heart of a biennale. The idea is more than exciting: (re)discovering an old artist by devoting an entire biennale to him allows for a new angle of approach, and to see his work conjugated with the present. For the second edition of its Biennale des arts visuels, the Béthune-Bruay metropolitan community is investing until 15 November four communes, Béthune, Auchel, Burbure and Ferfay, to better understand a well-known figure of art brut, Augustin Lesage (1876-1954). Originally from the area, the man worked as a miner from the age of fourteen, and in parallel nurtured a painting intimately linked to his practice of spiritism.

Theater returns to La Colline

At Paris, the return of director Sébastien Kheroufi at La Colline. His destiny is out of the ordinary: after a mechanical BEP and various jobs (maintenance agent, RATP driver, garage worker...), Sébastien Kheroufi fell into the world of theatre by chance, thanks to a text by Peter Handke that he quickly decided to adapt for the stage. Par les villages was thus the last show shown at the Centre Pompidou before its closure, and received a resounding critical reception. Always supported by Beaubourg, the young director will present La Mort du Môme at the La Colline theatre from 6 November to 12 December, a new play written from the memories of a childhood spent in Emmaüs homes. An autumn theatre event, not to be missed.

Experimental art at the Molière

At Paris, the ode to experimentation of the salon a ppr oc he. With its funny name in lowercase and with spaces, the salon a ppr oc he has supported since 2017 experimentation in the field of image and photography, and ventures even into volume and installation. This year, fifteen artists from France, Belgium or the United States (Emmanuelle Becker, Arina Essipowitsch, Jérémie Lenoir...) have been selected to exhibit under the elegant moldings of the Molière, a private mansion located not far from the Louvre museum, to which one can access freely (but by online reservation). A spot of gems, in a much more intimate format than Paris Photo.

Frac celebrates its anniversary

In all of France, the Frac in celebration for a weekend. On their own, they perfectly represent the decentralization of culture initiated in France over the years 1980. Throughout France, the 22 Regional Funds for Contemporary Art (Frac) open their doors for a weekend of free festivities on 21 and 22 November - a great opportunity to discover the diversity of their missions and the specificities of each collection, especially since this great "Weekend of Frac" celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. The Lillois will take advantage of it to go to the Tripostal, where the exhibition "Éclats du rire!" honors the Frac by exhibiting a joyful and unrestrained selection of their funds until next January.

Comics at the Finnish Institute

At the Finnish Institute, tame the comics of the land of a thousand lakes. It's one of our favorite places in Paris: located on the rue des Écoles, just a few steps from the Cluny museum, the Finnish Institute regularly offers excellent exhibitions and has one of the friendliest cafes in the 5th arrondissement. From 6 November to 18 December, on the occasion of the Finnish comic year in France, it hosts an ephemeral bookstore and a rich agenda of events. Including, notably, an exhibition by the young, awarded author and illustrator Juliana Hyrri (born in 1989), a drawn concert on 12 November by the artist Ville Ranta, in association with the accordionist Niko Kumpuvaara and the saxophonist Joonatan Rautiola, a screening of the animated film Les Moomins attendent Noël (Jakub Wroński and Ira Carpelan, 2017) on 12 December...

Latin American art fair in Paris

At the Maison de l’Amérique latine, a fair for Latin American artists. In addition to the photography fairs, the month of November coincides with the return of the excellent MIRA Art Fair at the Maison de l’Amérique latine, from 12 to 15 November, which is exclusively interested in the artistic scenes of Central and South America. Among the exhibitors, we find some French addresses (including the very reliable Mariane Ibrahim), but also the Mexican galleries Alejandra Topete, OMR or Saenger, the Peruvian Sismo and the Cuban The Cuban Art Hub. A promising third edition.

Contemporary art fair in Strasbourg

At Strasbourg, the ST-Art fair brings together dealers at the Parc des expositions. At the same dates or almost, the ST-Art fair celebrates its 30th edition from 13 to 15 November at the Parc des expositions de Strasbourg, whose spectacular architecture is signed by Kengo Kuma. Proud to be the "first contemporary art fair in the region," it brings together in 2026 about forty French and European galleries, but also associations, publishers and various institutions. Including the Frac Alsace, which organizes the exhibition "Seconde nature" from a selection of works from its collection. Engraving will also be honored with the gathering of 83 works by Philippe Mohlitz (1941-2019), as well as the printing press (born in Strasbourg in the 15th century), thanks to a didactic presentation by the Espace Européen Gutenberg association.

Polish culture in Paris

At Paris, the festival Un week-end à l’Est sets its sights on Cracovie. For its tenth edition, the festival Un week-end à l’Est returns from 16 to 28 November in different places in the 6th arrondissement of Paris to promote the Polish artistic scene, particularly that of Cracovie, the cultural capital of the south of the country. Spread between the École des beaux-arts, the Odéon theatre, the bookstore L'Écume des pages or the Lycée Montaigne, the program includes an opening evening with the director Krystian Lupa, exhibitions of Emilia Kina, Wilhelm Sasnal or Tadeusz Kantor, concerts, conferences, screenings, shows... Ten years after a first edition devoted to Warsaw, Poland once again reveals many riches.

Comics festival in Colomiers

At Colomiers, comics in honor. Stock up for winter. Not food (though), but comics to read curled up under a blanket, for example at the BD Colomiers festival, which returns from 20 to 22 November. In addition to a large book fair and a retrospective dedicated to Olivier Schrauwen in the Hall Comminges, eight other places throughout the city host exhibitions (Salomé Lahoche at the Véo Grand Central cinema, Léa Murawiec at the Saint-Exupéry square, Émilie Clarke at the Maison des Transitions écologiques...), murals, meetings, workshops, screenings or shows. The agenda is full and enjoyable, and the prices are gentle: 5 euros for the festival pass, 2 for the shows, 6.50 for the screenings.

Short film festival in Brest

At Brest, short film honored by a five-day festival.