Point Ephémère
Posted on November 23, 2009 by VINGT Editorial
Text: Will Best
If you allow yourself to meander down the Canal St Martin, you’ll stumble upon the industrial arts hub (plus restaurant plus bar) Point Ephémère. Once a factory, Point Ephémère now boasts performance spaces, 5 music studios, one dance studio, a fabric workshop, a multimedia platform and four visual art studios for artistic residence activities. Professional and amateur artists, dancers, musicians or even large installation specialists are invited to apply for in-house residencies of up to six months, where hard to acquire materials and specialist tools are at hand to render the careful process of developing an oeuvre.
It’s a popular and friendly hang out, a classic combination of location, free admission and a reasonably priced bar with outside seating (now with a tasty menu of affordable Thai street food), so it’s not hard to see why.
As you enter, you’ll see a huge assortment of graphically vibrant what’s-on flyers and, set slightly further back, a modest sized performance area. Pockets now stuffed with leaflets, perch by the bar, at the head of the room. The bar staff are welcoming, and the selection of beer, wine and hot food is ample.
200 Quai de Valmy, 10th
Ph: 01 40 34 02 48
Métro: Jaurès (2, 5, 7 bis)