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April 2012
  ♦ Culture
 Helmut Newton (March 24 to June 17, 2012) at the Grand Palais, avenue Winston Churchill, 8th arrondissement) Open every
day but Tuesday, from 10 am to 10 pm. Entrance: 11€. This retrospective, the first in France since Newton’s death in 2004 demonstrates both the photographer’s obsessions and his delight in provocation and “porno chic.” Known for his naked and shocking portraits of women–both celebrated and anonymous–Newton is famous for saying: “I love to photograph the people I love, those that I admire, and those who are famous, especially for bad reasons.” Judge for yourself.
Paris en chansons (until July 29, 2012) at the Gallery of libraries for the City of Paris, 22, rue Mahler, 4th arrondissement. Open Tuesday to Sunday, from 1:30 pm to 7 pm) There is no other city in the world that has inspired as many songs as Paris. Yet, until this exhibition, there has never been a book or an exhibition illustrating this notable fact. While 3,000 song titles were found for the show, about 400 have been selected and are being aired for this exhibition. Going into this show is like stepping back into time, thanks to brightly colored posters for Juliette Gréco, Charles Trenet, Edith Piaf, Mistinguett… Costumes, photos, even the singers’ shoes are on display in this themed show that shows how Paris inspired artists from all over.
Secrets of Parisian Urbanism: (Pavillon de l’Arsenal, 21, boulevard Morland, 4th arrondissement. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:30 am to 6:30 pm, Sunday from 11 am to 7 pm. Free to the public. www.parismetropole2020.com )Titled “Paris, the metropolis and its projects”, visitors will discover the urban development of the world’s most visited city from the Middle Ages into the future. Maps, models, plans, drawings, photos and movie, there are over 1200 documents to look at. The highlight of the show is Metropolitan Paris 2020, based on the applications Liquid Galaxy and Google Earth, it allows visitors to visualize the Paris region in 3D and to navigate the display in an interactive manner.
Bob Dylan, the explosion of rock 1961-1966: (March 6 to July 15th. Cité de la Musique. 221, avenue Jean-Jaurès, 19th arrondissement. Tel: 01 44 84 44 84. Tuesday through Saturday, 12 pm to 6 pm, Friday and Saturday evenings until 10 pm, Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm. www.citedelamusique.fr) This exhibition concentrates on the five crucial years that revolutionized Dylan’s career. Photos, manuscripts, acoustic guitars, films, as well as excerpts from concerts, bring a vital period of country rock back to life.
Matisse at the Centre Pompidou: March 7 mars to June 18 2012, open daily except Tuesdays from 11 am to 9 pm)  This atypical exhibition focuses on the very particular method that the artist used for his series of paintings Titled ”Matisse. Pairs and series,” the show brings together exceptional works to illustrate  the different formal treatments the artist applied to the same subject, be it a still-life, a landscape or a model. The 60 works from all over the world range from the artist’s early Pointillist period to his ambitious paper cutouts in blue, which grow more sublime with each viewing.
Edgar Degas and the Nude: (March 13 to July 1, 2012. Musée d’Orsay, 1 rue de la Légion d’Honneur, 7th arrondissement. Tel: 0140494814. Open daily except Mondays from 9:30 am to 6 pm.) This show brings together one of the most outstanding retrospectives of Degas’ nudes, whether they are academic oils, sensual pastels, or stunning bronze sculptures. Organized in conjunction with the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, this show strives to show the evolution in the French master’s work throughout his prolific career.
Berthe Morisot at the Marmottan: (March 8 to July 1, 2012, Tuesday through Sunday, 10 
am to 6 pm. Thursday evening until 8 pm.)  This is the first retrospective on the work of Berthe Morisot (1841-1895) in Paris for almost half a century. Over 150 paintings, pastels, watercolors, sanguines and charcoal drawings from museums and private collections from all over the world allow us to understand the career of one of the most celebrated Impressionnists.
♦ Night-life
Louboutin Puts the Crowd on Fire at the Crazy Horse: (from March 5 to May 31, 2012. The Crazy Horse, 12, avenue George V, 8th arrondissement. Tel: 01 47 23 32 32. Shows from Sunday through Friday at 8:15 pm and 10:45 pm and on Saturday, at 7 pm, 9:30 pm and 11:45 pm.) Baptized Fire, this show was exceptionally choreographed four tableaux inspired by hip-hop, the music of the movie director David Lynch, the rapper Swizz Beatz as well as a revival of a work conceived by Natacha Atlas.
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March 2012
♦ Fashion:
Marc Jacobs–Louis Vuitton at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (March 9, 2012–September 16, 2012) Dedicated to two iconic 
fashion visionaries, this exhibition creates an intriguing dialogue between the founder of Louis Vuitton and its current artistic director, the American designer Marc Jacobs. This show not only juxtaposes the industrial revolution with the contemporary globalization, but highlights the major contribution of Jacobs to Vuitton over the last 15 years.
Fashion Tea at the Bristol Hotel, Paris: March 10, 2012 For those of you fashionistas who want to discover Ralph Lauren’s spring/summer collection in Paris, then head to the five-star palace between 3:30 pm and 5:30 pm for an elegant French tea, with special pastries created by the three-star Michelin chef, tea and finger foods. At 55€ you get a bit of luxury, without the clothes, of course.
The Cour des Créateurs Group is opening Le Bar Mode (Fashion Bar), a new creative venue that can also be booked for private events. An irresistible spot for all fashionistas on the look-out for the latest trends, le Bar Mode offers a menu of dozens of different workshops that can be tried solo or in groups, ranging from ‘The Dummy’s Guide to Dress-Making’, ‘Things and Tips’ (les 
Trucs et astuces), ‘Kids’ (for all those interested in making children’s clothes), ‘Fashion Accessories’ (les Accessoires de Mode) for making handbags and ‘Women’s clothing’ (les Vêtements féminins) for making pretty tops. In short, Le Bar Mode offers over 80 different types of workshop with something for all interests and levels. The various workshops are described on a menu with a black background decorated with quotations referring to Paris’s refined and elegant fashion scene. A Venetian-style kitchen in shiny white and matt black tones is also part of the space and is used for cookery workshops. Le Bar Mode also boasts a little haberdashery shop where brand name sewing machines are for sale. Le Bar Mode can be privatized for fashion and cooking events for groups of up to 35 people. BAR MODE 10 rue Saint-Joseph, Paris 2nd www.courdescreateurs.com
 ♦ Culture:
The Institut du Monde Arabe, designed by Jean Nouvel, committed to its mission of promoting the arts from this part of the world 
is once again open to the public who can enjoy collections from the 22 Arab countries who co-founded this museum. After a year of renovations, museographer Roberto Ostinelli has transformed this 25 year old museum thanks to an elegant and subtle scenography. The Arab language is the unifying theme that brings together the different cultures and religions that make for such diversity. Visitors to the museum are guided by a sequence that combines the past and the present and subjects as varied as archaeology, history, the history of religions, anthropology . The works on display come from Damascus, Aleppo, Latakia, Amman, Tunis, Kairouan, Manama, as well as the Louvre, the Musée du Quai Branly and the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
The Jeu de Paume has two outstanding exhibitions on offer:
“Ai Weiwei – Interlacing” is the first major exhibition of photographs and videos by Ai Weiwei. It foregrounds Ai Weiwei the communicator – the documenting, analyzing, interweaving artist who communicates via many channels. Ai Weiwei already used photography in his New York years, but especially since his return to Beijing, he has incessantly documented the everyday urban and social realities in China, discussing it over blogs and Twitter. Photographs of radical urban transformation, of the search for earthquake victims, and the destruction of his Shanghai studio are presented together with his art photography projects, the Documenta project Fairytale, the countless blog and cell phone photographs. A comprehensive book accompanies this exhibition.
her images of 1930s New York convey her fascination with an urban landscape in the throes of dramatic change. Also known for championing the work of Eugène Atget, Abbott, who originally wanted to be sculptor, proved to be a great photographer of matter, space and light. This is the first exhibition in France to cover every stage of Berenice Abbott’s career, featuring over 120 vintage prints by this American photographer as well as a series of documents never previously shown. The selection of portraits, architectural photographs and scientific plates shows the many facets of a body of work all too often reduced to a handful of familiar images. ♦ Night-life:
With breathtaking views over the city at the top of the Hotel Concorde Lafayette, La Vue is sure to become one of the places to be seen on a Parisian night out. The lounge bar has been 
completely redecorated and now boasts some striking features such as a majestic chandelier made of 11,000 glass rods, created by Italian designer, Pier Luigi Copat. Another trademark feature is the drinks menu, selected by barman Stephen Martin who was voted France’s Best Drinks Mixer in 2009. He has created an imaginative drinks menu based around four themes: Historiquement vôtre (Historically Yours), Dandinement vôtre (Dandily Yours), Fémininement vôtre (Femininely Yours) and Classiquement vôtre (Classically Yours). A tasty finger food menu has been created to accompany your glass of ‘Parisienne’ or ‘Rive Gauche’. On offer: pata negra or burrata with olive oil and for the sweet-toothed, cheesecake or a selection of macaroons. All of this to the backdrop of a cutting-edge musical playlist. The group ‘Tête d’Affiche’ has been chosen to create a musical line up as eclectic as it is festive.
♦ Gastronomy: 
World Food Festival (March, 11, 12, 13, 2012) This road-show for foodies, held at the newly renovated Palais de la Mutualité, 25 rue Saint Victor, Paris 5th arrondissement, is being put on by Omnivore, the brainchild of Luc Dubanchet, where visitors will discover a ‘sweet program’, a ‘savoury program’ and for the first time, ‘a chocolate program.’ Food tasting events, a food market, and ‘f***ing dinner all over the city. Ideal for tourists, food professionals and food journalists.
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February 2012
Valentine’s Day in Paris:
This is a major holiday in France–after all this is the country of the French lover, etcetera. But even if you don’t have one at the moment, it is still a great time to sample the chocolates made for the occasion by the likes of Patrick Roger, Jean-Paul Hévin, Rémy Henry, Michel Chaudun, Joséphine Vannier and Dalloyau to name a few.
If you want to do a romantic dinner cruise on the Seine, be my guest–but I personally think it is overpriced and a bit of a tourist trap. Better to stick to an intimate bistro and head out on the day before or the day after the big day–you’re sure to get better food and you don’t have to feel like a copy-cat! Who said that love has to stick to a strict calendar?!
While there are lots of ways to gift your beloved on the holiday, a lovely bouquet of roses from Au Nom de la Rose, or a bottle of her favorite fragrance–I understand that J’Adore de Dior has edged ahead of Chanel No.5–or simply a great bottle of champagne with oysters and two tickets to the opera, could fit the bill. Or head for the nearest museum boutique to pick up an unusual gift–either a lovely illustrated art book or a handsome reproduction of one of Degas’s sculptures.
♦ Fashion:
This month Galeries Lafayette has launched a new unique visit of the store that covers both the fashion and historic heritage of this 
unique department store. You can sign up on Mondays at 11 am for a 45 minute tour (you need to be 11 guests minimum) or you can create a private group tour at your discretion for 6€ a person. Contact rachel.kaplan@orange.fr to set this up.
♦ Museums:
Danser Sa Vie au Centre Pompidou (Dancing Your Life at the Centre Pompidou) November 23, 2011 to April 2, 2012 From Auguste Rodin to Mathew Barney, Alexander Calder to Yves Klein, Henri Matisse to Loïe Fuller, this exhibition examines the role of dance in both life and in art.
Debussy, la musique et les arts (Debussy, music and the arts) at the Orangerie Museum With the 150th birthday of Claude Debussy, this exhibition traces the impact of his music and his passion for art which join him to Chopin, Verlaine and Bach, as well as the visual artists of his day.
The Espace Dali in the heart of Montmartre, from February 10th to May 10th, will present for the first time in France the 
collection of works offered and dedicated by Salvador Dali to his friend and secretary Enrique Sabater. Sixty oils, watercolors and sketches reveal the friendship between both men, as well as the artist’s more personal side.
Musée des Manuscrits et des Lettres: In this 600 square meter space, in the heart of a 17th century home in Saint Germain des Prés, this museum presents some of the rarest manuscripts and parchments in Paris, including the writings of General de Gaulle, Louis XVI, Napoléon, Voltaire, as well as drawings from The Little Prince and music partitions by Beethoven and Mozart.
♦ Entertainment:
Le Lido de Paris, on the Champs-Elysées, is running a floor show called Le Bonheur from January 1, 2012 to October 31, 2013.
Le Crazy Horse, on Avenue George V, is running an erotic dance show titled Désirs from January 1, 2012 to October 31, 2012.
The Opéra Bastille is running two major operas: Pélleas and Mélisande in honor of the 150th birthday of Claude Debussy, and Verdi’s Rigoletto. Debussy’s opus is from February 28th to March 16, 2012, and Verdi’s will be performed through February 23rd, 2012.
