Shared singularities is the opening exhibition of Le 116, centre for contemporary arts in Montreuil.
This first exhibition draws up a « catalogue of collective desire » generated by the appearance of an art centre in the specific context that is Montreuil in 2013.

It reflects the multiple meetings and exchanges with local actors, as well as the preliminary research that has been carried out among artists, creators and art professionals. The exhibition gathers together the many voices and gestures that invoke the Other, considered to be an alterity that is as desirable as it is irreducible.

With Ivan Argote & Pauline Bastard / Sylvie Blocher / Simon Boudvin / Jagna Ciuchta / Andrea Faciu & Guillaume Blondeau / Laurent Mareschal  / Microsillons / Otobong Nkanga /   Laurence Nicola  / Tami Notsani  / Célio Paillard & Frédéric Mathevet  / Alexandra Sà / Katarina Zdjelar

Montreuil, a city which plays an essential role in the project of Greater Paris, is going to have its own contemporary art centre for the first time. Le 116, located at 116 rue de Paris, is to celebrate its inauguration on the 16th of October, 2013. 200 square metres in a former manor house, featuring a contemporary extension, are dedicated to the presentation of current forms of artistic practice. Le 116 will present three exhibitions a year, linking local and international artistic production. It hosts up to three residencies a year. Le 116 intends to particularly support artistic currents which are rarely to be found in galleries or art fairs, and which manifest themselves as politically informed, dynamic forms of aesthetic research.

As a response to the “societal layering” (mix) which is typical of Montreuil, Le 116 is not interested in reflecting a singular, directing vision, but rather in uniting actors from different horizons. Le 116 proposes that the spectator takes part in the creation and actively engages with the artists, in order to multiply the voices that will resonate within the art centre. The resulting effect of « polyphony »—that we prefer to the solitude of the exhibition curator—paves the way towards an open form of dialogue based on prolonged exchange between artists and the public, visitors and Le 116 team, professionals and amateurs.

Two long term projects transform Le 116 into a genuinely public space. Each is accessible even beyond the exhibition cycle, and will invite the contribution of locals:

Le Quartier Général is an independent research group which aims to establish long-lasting links between Le 116 and its environment. Le Quartier Général will function as a crossroads between artistic gesture, scientific research, ‘mapping’ the territory and creating a dynamic archive.

The Silent University is an autonomous knowledge exchange platform, initiated by Ahmet Ö?üt. The University recruits asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants with a professional background in their countries of origin, which, due to systematical social exclusion and processes of discrimination, is unable to put their knowledge to professional use in the countries which they currently live in. Through the Silent University, careers that have been muted are included and reassigned. Taking the form of an academic program, lectures, seminars, and an online platform. The Silent University started initially in London in 2012 in collaboration with Delfina Foundation and Tate.

www.le116-montreuil.fr