PARIS, FRANCE.- The year 2006 marks a major stage in FIAC’s evolution , with an unprecedented number of new elements: a new implantation in the heart of Paris; new prestigious sites; high-level contents based on a heightened selectivity and a reaffirmation of our desire to open to new ideas: special projects, quality services, different ways of visiting the fair.

These choices are a logical continuation of the renewal process that FIAC began with the introduction of design and very young galleries in 2004, and the organisation of a series of events in the Grand Palais in 2005. This process has accelerated even more this year, culminating in a new, durable approach that will certainly undergo other improvements and innovations in years to come. For its 33rd edition, FIAC has invested the Grand Palais and the Cour Carrée of the Louvre museum. This position in the centre of the city, in close proximity to its important cultural institutions, its artistic venues and “art de vivre” lifestyle is a strong strategic choice: to closely associate the FIAC with the image of Paris, its attractiveness, its quality of life, the reborn vitality of its artistic scene.

The Grand Palais : Several days after the Grand Palais re-opened in 2005, FIAC was the first fair to invest its historic site, hosting a programme involving 40 specialising in modern art and contemporary art with a scenography that highlights the immense volumes of the nave, enhanced by the construction of double level spaces at the north and south extremities, a first for the site.

The Cour Carrée of the Louvre museum: This is the first year that FIAC will invest the Cour Carrée of the Louvre—an outstanding event since this is the first time that this prestigious site has been used either for a contemporary art event or an art fair. The presence in the Cour Carée is inscribed in the framework of a broad and multifaceted partnership with the Louvre museum which includes an artistic facet (with a programme of contemporary art works in the Tuileries gardens and initiatives directed towards a younger audience. The architecture had to be equal to the quality of the site. An ephemeral transparent structure of 5200 sq. metres in the centre of the Cour, in complete harmony with the façade, houses 71 exhibitors: 62 galleries of contemporary art and cutting-edge creation as well as 9 galleries in the design sector, conceived today in an innovative spirit.