Lectures, round-tables, performances… Events at the heart of Monumenta 2008

MONUMENTA hosts a related programme of lectures, round-tables, talks, screenings, concerts and performances, encouraging visitors to approach the installation via a range of themes central to Richard Serra's work and art. Each event provides a unique opportunity to discover new perspectives on Serra's work, at the heart of the Grand Palais. The programme is structured around a series of regular weekly events:

Thursdays: 'Face-to-face'

Thursday nights at 7.30 p.m.: Leading personalities from the worlds of literature, science, film, philosophy etc. present their personal view of Richard Serra's work, bringing striking new insights from a range of disciplines, and opening the installation to a wide variety of interpretations.

Fridays: 'Talking points…'

Fridays at 7.30 p.m.: Discussions with leading art historians and artists shed new light on the distinctive character of Richard Serra's work from a variety of different approaches. Round-table talks explore Serra's central themes, assess his œuvre to date, and suggest new perspectives.

Saturdays: 'Richard Serra as seen by…'

Saturday evenings at 7.30 p.m. Choreographers, musicians etc are invited to intervene and perform in the context of Richard Serra's installation, at the heart of the nave of the Grand Palais, contributing diverse new resonances to our experience of the work. A series of unique tributes and interrogations, each designed to 're-live' the work in new and different ways.

Occasional talks

Talks in the lecture room at the Grand Palais provide comment and perspectives from leading art historians, critics, philosophers, psychoanalysts and artists, exploring the latest developments and findings in their respective fields. In partnership with some of France's leading higher education institutions (the INHA, EHESS and IUAV), the programme reflects Monumenta's commitment to bring expert academic research to the widest possible public, exploring key issues at the forefront of contemporary creative art.

Film screenings: daily from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Daily screenings at 3 p.m. (duration c. 60 minutes) present a selection of films by Richard Serra, reflecting the artist's wide-ranging interests. The programme includes celebrated works such as the four-part series Hands, together with important, decisive films such as Railroad Turnbridge, Frame or Steelmill – all providing new insights into Richard Serra's work and artistic career.

Each screening will be followed by an alternating one-hour programme of documentaries on Richard Serra's work (Richard Serra – Work comes out of work, Thierry Spitzer, 1992 / Richard Serra, Frédéric Le Clair, 1984 / Thinking on your feet, Maria Anna Tappeiner, 2005).

An exclusive documentary on Promenade – Richard Serra's strikingly individual response to the challenge of Monumenta 2008 – will be screened continuously at the Grand Palais, highlighting the extraordinary scale of the project, and the issues at stake. (Co-produced by the Centre National des Arts Plastiques, the Centre Pompidou and Carson Prod).