Paris Clubs Become Galleries: REFERENCE FESTIVAL 2026

On October 24, media artist John Gerrard and electronic musician Richie Hawtin will stage a 24-hour project in Paris, running from noon to noon the next day. Digital installations take over the daytime, and a techno performance carries the program into the night.

Contemporary Art Meets the Dance Floor

This is how the 2026 REFERENCE FESTIVAL blends contemporary art with electronic music. The main Paris program runs from October 22 to 25 and features artists working in very different media, including Donna Huanca, Gabriel Moses, Dozie Kanu and Pol Taburet. Installations will be placed in several venues, among them the club FVTVR, alongside live performances and talks.

The participating artists' work centers on the body and the senses, everyday objects, photography and video, and computer technology. Their practices were developed in museums and galleries, and moving them into a club and multipurpose cultural space changes how audiences look at them. A gallery built for focused viewing and a space shared by people gathered for music and performance differ in lighting, sound and viewing hours.

At the Gerrard and Hawtin project, visitors can take in the artwork or dance to the music, and in doing so they take part in the same project.

Why It Matters

By carrying art out of the museum and into the club, the festival tests new ways of viewing, where light, sound and time shape how a work is experienced. It also suggests that art and nightlife audiences can share one space.

Read the original article in Korean: K trendy NEWS