Fun, it seems, is something we adults are a little short on. These days, the word is something we’ve learned to measure out or schedule in. It’s time to let lose; and we know just the place…
Palais de Tokyo is easily the coolest art space in Paris. In fact, it’s probably the coolest art space in Europe. After opening in 2002, it expanded in 2012 to become one of the largest sites devoted to contemporary creativity in Europe and now houses up to eight exhibitions at a time in their self-proclaimed ‘anti-museum’. Annually their exhibition programme explores well beyond the frontiers of France’s contemporary art scene, creating a space loved by specialists, art-lovers and the wider public alike. The building’s vast size stupefies you as it stretches out along the banks of the Seine, it’s a place where extremes co-exsist: It’s vast and yet intimate, magical yet relaxed and super-fun whilst remaining dedicated to delivering the very best contemporary art from across the world.
UGO RONDINONE : I ♥ JOHN GIORNO
It’s rare we find a space in which we engage with every offering. But at Palais de Tokyo it happens every time. Currently, check out the UGO RONDINONE : I ♥ JOHN GIORNO retrospective; conceived by the artist Ugo Rondinone and devoted to the life and work of poet John Giorno. Videos, pictures and audio are interspersed within huge halls covered floor to ceiling in coloured snippets of Giorno’s lyricisms. And hey, if you can’t make it in time, they’ve re-created Giorno’s iconic Dial-a-Poem to coincide with the exhibition. Call +33 (0) 800 106 106 until January 2016 and listen to works from the likes of Serge Gainsbourg, Patti Smith and Andy Warhol.
UGO RONDINONE : I ♥ JOHN GIORNO
Other schools of discipline are explored through performance, cinema, sculpture and music in Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson’s, Only the one who knows desire, exhibition. 
Ragnar Kjartansson: Only the one who knows desire
And architectural elements built across two large mezzanines and several rooms make Melanie Matranga’s, 反复, an intentionally elusive exploration of emotional states. Both of these incredible exhibitions experiment with the mundane and the sublime in a building that was made to honour the majesty of their size and scale.
Melanie Matranga: 反复
Palais de Tokyo also produces its own beautiful print magazine, Palais, as well as a brand new series of monographic books that use photography, essays and experimental media to explore current exhibitions.
Palais magazine. Current issue
Then there’s Tokyo Eat, the in-house restaurant with awesome interiors designed by architect, Stéphane Maupin. In the evenings the bar serves cocktails until the gallery closes at midnight. And just when you thought you’d seen it all, the gallery also has its own nightclub underneath as well as a Photo Automat machine in the lobby.
Check out upcoming exhibitions at the Palais de Tokyo here. It’s THE place to enjoy the art of our time, and it’s also a hell of a lot of fun.