Ouest-Lumière Performs at FABRIKculture Opening of "Strictly Collective" in Hégenheim
On October 4, 2026, the "Strictly Collective" exhibition debuted at FABRIKculture in Hégenheim, France, featuring a performance by the art collective Ouest-Lumière. The lineup included Com&Com, Protoplast, Gisler Gähwiler, and Ado + Comenius. Yann Toma, who has held the title of "président à vie" since 1991, directs Ouest-Lumière, which originated from a nationalized electricity producer in the western suburbs of Paris in 1946. Toma repurposed the name and archives, redirecting the collective’s mission toward "énergie artistique." With over 200 global "agents," Ouest-Lumière functions as a legal entity, creating various installations and performances. Toma, born in 1969, is also a professor at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and an artist-observer at the UN.
Key facts
- Performance by Ouest-Lumière held October 4, 2026, at FABRIKculture in Hégenheim, France, near Basel, Switzerland
- Occurred during the opening of the group exhibition "Strictly Collective"
- Involved art collectives Com&Com, Protoplast, Gisler Gähwiler, and Ado + Comenius
- Ouest-Lumière is directed by French artist and researcher Yann Toma, self-styled "président à vie" since 1991
- Original Ouest-Lumière was a real electricity producer for western Paris suburbs with a plant at Puteaux built around 1900
- Nationalized in 1946 under Électricité de France (EDF); Puteaux plant demolished mainly between 1992 and 1995
- Toma registered the name and trademark with INPI and rewrote corporate statutes substituting "artistic energy" for electrical power
- 2008 exhibition at Electropolis museum in Mulhouse assembled more than 12,000 electrical objects
- Dynamo-Fukushima at the Grand Palais in 2011 drew more than 17,000 visitors in two days
- Toma born 1969 in Paris, studied with Michel Journiac, professor at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, UN artist-observer since 2009
Entities
Artists
- Yann Toma
- Michel Journiac
- Stephen Wright
- Paul Ardenne
Institutions
- Ouest-Lumière
- FABRIKculture
- Com&Com
- Protoplast
- Gisler Gähwiler
- Ado + Comenius
- Électricité de France
- EDF
- INPI
- Electropolis museum
- Grand Palais
- Centre Pompidou
- Fonds national d'art contemporain
- Espace EDF Electra
- Maison Rouge
- Culturgest
- Saatchi Gallery
- Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
- United Nations
Locations
- Hégenheim
- France
- Basel
- Switzerland
- Paris
- Puteaux
- Seine
- Mulhouse
- Lisbon