Le Salon Révélations: Opening speech

Minister of Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius,
President of Ateliers d'Art de France Serge Nicole,
Ladies and gentlemen

It is a great pleasure to be here at the magnificent Grand Palais for the opening of the Révélations.

Norway and France enjoy close and longstanding relations, characterised by friendship, trust, shared interests and cooperation. Communication between our countries is extensive, and culture is just one of the languages we use.

The fact that Norwegian Crafts has been invited by its French sister organisation Ateliers d’Art de France to be “the Country of Honour” is a great accolade. Our fine craft communities have cooperated for many years. They share a sense of optimism and enthusiasm.

In recent years we have seen a growing interest in Norwegian culture in Paris. Two years ago, the Edvard Munch exhibition The Modern Eye drew French art-lovers to the Centre Pompidou. It is also encouraging to see that many contemporary Norwegian artists and performers are gaining recognition. This spring, six Norwegian artists exhibited their work at the “Nouvelles vagues” exhibition at Palais de Tokyo. Several Norwegian choreographers and dramatists have been making their mark on French stages.

Earlier today I had the pleasure of visiting the Norwegian exhibition On Time, which is part of Paris Design Week. The exhibition focuses on time, place and space. It is well worth taking the time to go and see this exhibition.

The Norwegian exhibition under the glass dome of the Grand Palais is curated and designed by one of Norway’s foremost curators, Marianne Zamecznik. Ms Zamecznik has drawn inspiration from the glass and steel architecture of the Grand Palais. This has created a dynamic scenographic structure that emphases the diversity of the artists.

This fair is a unique opportunity to promote Norwegian fine crafts and I hope that this exhibition will pave the way for further collaborative projects in the future.

I would like to congratulate Ateliers d’art de France for having created this wonderful and inspiring exhibition, and Norwegian Crafts for their outstanding contribution. I wish all the artists represented here every success.