Artists in residence

 Born in France in 1985, Gaëlle Choisne lives and works in Paris. The daughter of a Haitian mother and a Breton father, Gaëlle Choisne blends oral traditions, Creole mythology and popular culture in works that reflect both Haitian history and her own personal narrative. Her practice combines a documentary approach (photography and video) with the use of raw materials, addressing socio-political issues linked to the over-exploitation of natural resources and colonial history.

She has had numerous solo and group exhibitions, including at the Acacia Art Center (France, 2023), MAC VAL (France, 2022), MAMVP (France, 2022), Galerie Air de Paris (France, 2021), GIBCA Göteborg International Biennial of Contemporary Art (Sweden, 2021), 5th New Museum Triennial (USA, 2021), The Mistake Room (USA, 2019) and Bétonsalon (France, 2018). Gaëlle Choisne was recently nominated for the Prix Marcel Duchamp 2024.   

Nikhil Chopra was born in Calcutta, India, in 1974. He is based in Goa, India, where he co-runs HH Art Spaces. Nikhil Chopra’s artistic practice interweaves performance, drawing, photography, sculpture and installations. His performances, in large part improvised, dwell on identity and its construction, autobiography and authorship, the pose and self-portraiture. His work refl ects on the process of transformation and the part played by the duration
of performance. Nikhil Chopra is represented by Galleria Continua (San Gimignano, Beijing, Les Moulins, Habana, Roma, Sao Paulo, Paris).

‍During his residency he will develop the project Recomposing the Panorama, a six-month immersive artistic adventure in the heart of Paris, in the shadow of the Sacré Cœur, which will unravel in two folds.

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Part 1: To gather (September-January)
‍Slow walks, long observations, conversations, performances, drawings, cooking and eating sessions, dialogues and engagements will become a way of discovering, collecting, recording and remembering. The atelier at Art Explora will become home, studio, workshop, kitchen, living room, dining table, library, gallery, theatre and a place for silence. It will serve as a container and store house of experiences and memories.

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Part 2: Together (February)
‍The fermentation and pickling of ideas and bodies will come together in the form of an event; a gathering, a happening, a party, an exhibition, a celebration and a performance. An attempt will be made to stitch together a new narrative around time spent with a city and its inhabitants in the form of an exquisite reimagined panorama.