JEU DE PAUME
The Jeu de Paume is an artistic venue exclusively dedicated to contemporary photography, video art, experimental film and documentary essay.
The Jeu de Paume produces, co-produces and houses exhibitions, film festivals, conferences, educational activities and publications. It also supports internet creation hosting web-based projects on its website.
The history of the place is quite eventful: it was created in 1862 during the 2nd Empire as the first Parisian venue dedicated to the practice of the racket game regarded as the precursor of tennis. So as to keep a sense of aesthetic continuity, it was modelled after the neighbouring building, l’Orangerie. The early 20th century saw the rise of tennis and the venue was transformed into an exhibition gallery. From 1922 to 1929, it served as an annex of the Musée du Luxembourg. During World War II, the Jeu de paume was used as storage and sorting house for stolen artworks and it housed impressionist artworks between 1947 and 1986 before the Musée d’Orsay opened along with the Louvre. Finally in 2004, it became dedicated to supporting photographic creation and image.
