Okwui Enwezor Curates Third Triennale de Paris at Palais de Tokyo

The third Triennale de Paris, titled "Intense Proximité," runs from April 20 to August 26, 2012, at the renovated Palais de Tokyo and several other venues including Bétonsalon, Galliera, Musée du Louvre, Instants Chavirés, Le Crédac, and Les Laboratoires d'Aubervilliers. Curated by Okwui Enwezor, director of Haus der Kunst and former Documenta 11 curator, the exhibition features a multicultural selection blending ethnologists Marcel Griaule and Claude Lévi-Strauss with historical figures like Walker Evans, Irving Penn, and Jean Rouch, alongside contemporary Indian and African artists, writer Amos Gitai, and filmmaker Werner Herzog. Enwezor, a Nigerian American, aims to critique ethnocentrism and the "clash of civilizations" theory, emphasizing bidirectional cultural contact. The exhibition includes an anthology of texts by Sartre, Lévi-Strauss, and Wifredo Lam. Enwezor rejects the notion of Paris as a frozen center, instead highlighting its dynamic contemporary art scene. He presents artists chronologically rather than alphabetically, focusing on practices over nationalities. The curatorial team includes Mélanie Bouteloup, Abdellah Karroum, Émilie Renard, and Claire Staebler.