District 13 Art Fair: Paris Launches New Street Art Fair in 13th Arrondissement

A new art fair dedicated to street art, pop surrealism, and low brow—collectively termed urban art—will launch in Paris's 13th arrondissement from September 27 to 30, 2018, with a preview on September 26. Called District 13 – International Art Fair, the event is organized by Mehdi Ben Cheikh, director of Galerie Itinerrance, which previously spearheaded the Street Art 13 project (2009) featuring 50 murals by 22 international artists, and Tour Paris 13 (2013), a massive collective exhibition in a skyscraper with over 100 artists from 16 countries. The fair will be held at Hôtel Drouot, a historic auction house founded in 1852 that has auctioned works by Picasso, Matisse, Braque, and Dalí. Confirmed galleries include Over The Influence (Los Angeles, Hong Kong) with artists Cleon Peterson, Vhils, and Invader; Subliminal Projects (Los Angeles); Galerie Itinerrance (Paris) with INTI, Maye, Shepard Fairey, and Saner; Galerie LJ (Paris) with Swoon and Andrew Schoultz; and Dorothy Circus Gallery (Rome, London) presenting Hyuro, Andrea Wan, Marion Peck, Ron English, Eduardo Kobra, and Kazuki Takamatsu. Ben Cheikh stated the fair aims to mobilize the planet's most important artists to demonstrate that Paris is the place where things are happening. Olivier Lange, director general of Drouot Group, noted the collaboration illustrates Paris's vitality in the international art market.