ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Art Basel Paris Closes Early as Nationwide French Protests Shutter Museums

festival-fair · 2026-10-20

On October 23, Art Basel Paris will conclude earlier than scheduled due to anticipated nationwide protests in France concerning living conditions, with visitor safety as a top priority. Additionally, outdoor sculptures along Winston Churchill Avenue will be taken down. Major cultural institutions in Paris, such as the Louvre and Musée d'Orsay, will also close on Saturday, along with galleries like Gagosian. An artist coalition celebrates this cancellation as a win for cultural preservation. Ed Simon commemorates the centenary of the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning. Leah Triplett Harrington reviews "The Prime of Your Life," showcasing 18 women artists over 75. Pasadena painter John Griswold relays a message from Phoebe Bridgers. The Studio Museum in Harlem has announced new artists-in-residence, and Kiki Smith prints will be donated to the New York Public Library.

Key facts

  • Art Basel Paris closes early on October 23, two days before its scheduled end
  • The fair cites safeguarding visitors amid nationwide French demonstrations
  • Outdoor sculptures on Winston Churchill Avenue will be removed
  • The Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Musée de l'Orangerie, and Musée National Picasso close Saturday
  • Gagosian is among galleries also shuttering during the protests
  • The Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh marks its centennial
  • "The Prime of Your Life" features 18 women artists over 75
  • John Griswold began painting Phoebe Bridgers's guitars after a December 2022 Instagram DM

Entities

Artists

Institutions

  • Art Basel Paris
  • Louvre
  • Gagosian
  • Musée d'Orsay
  • Musée de l'Orangerie
  • Musée National Picasso
  • University of Pittsburgh
  • Cathedral of Learning
  • Studio Museum in Harlem
  • Prix Duchamp
  • New York Public Library
  • Hyperallergic
  • University at Buffalo
  • Columbia University School of the Arts
  • Cal State LA
  • Washington Post
  • Nation
  • Walrus
  • FBI
  • LAPD
  • Brown Berets
  • Pentagon
  • Art Basel
  • Grand Palais
  • Petit Palais
  • Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine
  • Galleria Raffaella Cortese
  • rosenfeld
  • Operation Sentinelle
  • Instagram
  • Syndicat National des Artistes Plasticiennes
  • Fondation Louis Vuitton
  • Charlie Hebdo
  • Hyper Cacher
  • Euronews
  • Le Monde
  • BBC
  • NPR
  • École du Louvre
  • Hauser & Wirth
  • Jeu de Paume
  • ArtReview
  • White Cube
  • Paris Police Prefecture
  • FIAC
  • Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporain
  • Ocula
  • Lupa Systems
  • Pillage de classe
  • Nouvelles Pensées critiques
  • Cultures en lutte
  • Snap CGT
  • Musée du Louvre
  • Beaux-Arts de Paris
  • Galerie Georges-Philippe & Nathalie Vallois
  • Ministère des Affaires étrangères
  • Le Quotidien de l'Art
  • Niki Charitable Art Foundation
  • Adagp
  • Beaux Arts
  • Galerie Mennour
  • Galerie Vallois
  • Galerie Eric Mouchet
  • Louis Vuitton
  • documentations_art
  • Connaissance des Arts
  • Ceramic Art Fair
  • Design Miami
  • Moderne Art Fair
  • Galerie Almine Rech
  • Le Journal des Arts
  • Gilets jaunes
  • Outsider Art Fair
  • AKAA
  • Paris Internationale
  • Moderne Art Faire
  • Palais de l'Élysée
  • Artribune
  • Dior
  • Lacoste
  • Monopol
  • Artnet News
  • The New York Times
  • Marian Goodman
  • Thaddaeus Ropac
  • Templon
  • Pace Di Donna Schrader
  • Galerie Berthe Weill
  • Gladstone
  • Kurimanzutto
  • Xavier Hufkens
  • David Kordansky
  • Layr
  • Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler
  • The Breeder
  • Fondation Cartier
  • Le Large
  • Emerige
  • LACMA
  • New Museum
  • MoMA PS1
  • Art Institute of Chicago
  • Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • Frieze
  • Artlyst
  • ARTnews
  • Prefettura di polizia
  • Collezione da Tiffany
  • FAD Magazine
  • préfecture de police
  • Ville de Paris
  • RATP
  • Asia Now
  • Menart Fair
  • Outsider' Paris
  • OFFSCREEN
  • Design Miami Paris
  • Offprint
  • Post-Fair
  • Arts in the City
  • Galerie Magazine

Locations

  • Paris
  • France
  • Winston Churchill Avenue
  • United States
  • Pittsburgh
  • New York
  • Los Angeles
  • Washington
  • Haiti
  • Avenue Winston Churchill
  • Clemenceau Place
  • Jean Perrin Square
  • Milan
  • Italy
  • London
  • United Kingdom
  • Saint-Denis
  • Switzerland
  • Avenue Winston-Churchill
  • Grand Palais
  • Chapelle des Petits-Augustins
  • Place de la République
  • Matignon-Saint-Honoré
  • 7 Avenue Winston Churchill, 75008 Paris
  • avenue Winston Churchill
  • place de la Concorde
  • Hanovre
  • Germany
  • Place Clemenceau
  • Champs-Élysées
  • Bastille
  • Opéra
  • Nation
  • Place de la Concorde
  • Frankreich
  • Pantin
  • Vienna
  • Austria
  • Berlin
  • Munich
  • Athens
  • Greece
  • Quai de Valmy
  • Place du Trocadéro
  • Eiffel Tower
  • Ile Seguin
  • Aboso
  • Istanbul
  • Turkey
  • avenue Winston-Churchill
  • place de la Bastille
  • place de la Nation

Sources