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Each year, a leading contemporary artist engages with the monumental nave of the Grand Palais through the creation of a series of new works. In May/June 2007, the first installation in the MONUMENTA series (Anselm Kiefer, Falling Stars) attracted widespread popular and critical acclaim, with over 135,000 visitors in less than five weeks (some 3,800 visitors per day). MONUMENTA was hailed in the press as 'the very best of public service' (Journal du Dimanche, 17 June 2007). Over 3,819 pupils from twelve different educational authorities took part in school workshops on-site. Some 500,000 Internet pages were consulted daily on the exhibition Web site, monumenta.com. More than 4,000 visitors attended the accompanying programme of talks, readings, lectures and film screenings.
American-born Richard Serra is MONUMENTA's second invited artist – a leading and highly influential figure whose work has revolutionised the history of sculpture. Serra's new installation – Promenade – takes the form of a spectacular landscape of steel. In 2009, French artist Christian Boltanski will be MONUMENTA's third guest creator.
Recently renovated, the Grand Palais is a unique monument in the heart of Paris, and the world. Designed for the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1900, the Grand Palais is an architectural gem of monumental proportions, a living symbol of progress and modernity. Its immense glass vault rises to a height of 45 metres beneath the central dome, and the nave extends for over 200 metres, covering some 13,500 m2 in a single span. This historic venue hosts numerous of major cultural events. Now, with MONUMENTA, the Grand Palais becomes the setting for new work by a single artist: a chance to express their creative force and energies on an unprecedented scale. A new way to discover the work of a renowned international artist, a new way to experience the Grand Palais.
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