Paris: Impressions of Life 1880-1925

Guest: Clare Needham - Curator Bendigo Art Gallery

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The Bendigo Art Gallery has established a reputation for bringing amazing exhibitions to regional Victoria, so when I heard there was a Paris exhibit coming, I just had to get there and see it for myself! I was so lucky to chat to curator Clare Needham about their Paris: Impressions of Life 1880-1925 exhibition. Clare took me through 7 different “rooms” depicting different facets of Paris from the Belle Epoch period taking me both back in time and to the streets of Paris.

Each of the zones of the exhibition are themed with a different colour and convey in a contemporary way the various concepts together with a sound scape, paintings, posters from the era, street signs, sculptures, fashion, maps and moving images from the actual days of the Belle Epoch. There are even huge photos on the wall which to me almost looked like time travellers’ portals! I felt I could step through and be right there in the middle of the fun and fascination of a 1900 Paris rue!

The exhibition takes us from the large Haussmann boulevards, to the new department stores and restaurants, we travel through the new parks and jardins, to the Seine, past the Tour Eiffel and onto Montmartre before learning about the Musée de Carnavalet itself and finishing on the most beautiful boulevard in the world, the Champs Élysées.

Bendigo Art Gallery links

Paris: Impressions of Life exhibition

Bonjour Bendigo

Clare’s Paris tips

Bar à Bulles (rooftop bar behind the Moulin Rouge)

Renoir’s Garden & Musée de Montmartre

Marché couvert des Enfants Rouges (in the Marais)

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