Point Ephémère is an art centre located the 10th arrondissement of Paris, in a former dock-hall on Canal Saint Martin. Its project mixes artists’ residences, public performance and an active intervention of the City of Paris.
It is lead by Usines Ephémères’s team (Ephemera Factories) who has been transforming abandoned and unused buildings into temporary artistic spaces for fifteen years. This new centre for artistic dynamics is equipped with the necessary tools for artists’ residence (visual and fine artists, musicians, dancers and choreographers) and public recognition of their work.
Point Ephémère has a programmed lifetime of four years. It’s principle will enable a turning point in the new cultural future programmed by the City of Paris in the next coming years for the site.
Point Ephémère opened with its first live music performance, on October 2004 the 13th. Since then, musicians, dancers and fine artists have been filling the rehearsal and work studios with their work and presence, exhibitions, performances and gigs go on and the restaurant now welcomes customers every day.

The Building / History

Point Éphémère is settled in the 1400m2 former Point P building, named upon the building material brand.
Built in 1922, its first landowner dedicated this bricks and concrete art-deco architectural building to commerce. This former dock, which fully participated to the industrial life of Canal Saint Martin, dissociates itself from the start by its progressive aim. Mr Suchet, a businessman and landowner of the building enhanced the site with a playground and a ballroom for the benefit of his employees and the inhabitants of the neighbourhood. Robert Sabatier also gives a precise description of the building in his novel, Les Allumettes Suédoises.
Until December 2007, the building will be shared with the Château-Landon Fire Station, the House of Associations of the 10th arrondissement and Point Ephémère.

Observation comity
Artistic direction and actions are being discussed during regular meetings with the observation comity composed with members of the area’s council, social centre directors, associations’ presidents and City Hall members. The comity (25 people) has a consultant’s role and checks the accuracy of the actions taken and allows a real public relations work.

Sponsors
The City Hall of Paris, the Ile de France Region, the Ile de France Direction for Cultural Affairs and the National Centre for Popular Music (CNV) sponsor Point Éphémère.

A PLACE FOR CREATION...

Residences

 4 visual arts studios
 5 music rehearsal studios
 1 dance studio
 Creation workshop
 Multimedia platforms (sound and image poles)

Point Ephémère offers a system of residences of 3 to 6 months for the 4 visual arts studios, the 2 music studios and the dance studio. These residences make the realisation of creative, research and production work possible on a specific project. They are destined to emerging artists.
Candidatures are called upon every 6 months by email and a different commission for each discipline chooses the artists who will benefit from the studios.
The selected artists participate to the general operation of the building. As compensation, Point Ephémère sets accompaniment devices and the necessary energies up in order to help them realise their project.

• Dance
1 dancing hall ... 135 m2
Methods: hour hiring and residences.
Equipment: floating parquet floor, dancing carpet, wiring for sound, cloakroom.

The residences can last from 1 to 3 months.

The dance residences at Point Ephémère are, above all, research and experimentation choreographic residences. They are an opportunity for artists not to be solely in ultimate masterpiece production and public performance logic.
The dancing studio offers a view from above on the canal. White walls and large mirrors completed by a light sound wiring. This space has two roles: dancers and dance companies for residences and hiring for dancing or kung fu lessons. This enables a mix of the publics and genres.

• Visual Arts
4 visual arts studios ... 30 m2 each
The studios are located upstairs. There are four of them, all with a view on the canal. The residences never exceed 6 months. The studios have been conceived in line, partitioned with light structures entirely removable. This system allows an easy evolution of the spaces.
Visual Arts residences at Point Ephémère take place during a six months period and are articulated around a helped project. The residence is aimed at young artists or young projects, with a need for support by a third part. Point Ephémère has a role of producer or co-producer on the residents’ projects and helps with fund raising and sponsoring.
Residents benefit from free access to production tools, which gives them a larger autonomy: wood and metal working studio, sound and video studios, a sound engineer and a video engineer. In addition, our guidance takes other shapes like administrative or law support or through the organisation of regular visits of the studios by professionals.
There are four visual art studios dedicated to residences of approximately 30 m2 each. A monthly and fixed fee covering a part of the general expenses will be asked as participation to each resident.
Over the 4 studios, two are dedicated to residences, one welcomes foreign artists within the context of an international exchange. The forth studio is reserved to artists producing an exhibition at Point Ephémère.

• Music
For technical reason, music residences are cancelled for the moment. They should be reintroduced in September 2005.

5 The Music Rehearsal Studios
Disposition set on schedule
Methods: residences and hiring
Opening Time: Mondays to Saturdays
Surface: 30 m2

5 soundproofed boxes on the banks of the canal are placed at the disposal of professional or amateur musicians who can hire them for periods of 1 to 6 months. These are not recording but rehearsal studios, preventing from noise harmful effects on neighbourhood in central Paris.
These spaces are set with disposition on schedule and are aimed at any artist, association or person willing to benefit from a space for creation on a specific period.

Stock and creation room

Methods: artists from all disciplines on scheduled calendar.
Surface: 80 m2

This large collective workshop is destined to all artists from all disciplines, for them to make or create pieces of work or a scene set. Directly accessible from the street, this workshop is the process of being equipped with proper machinery and tools.

Multi-media platform
Sound and image pole
Methods: artists from all disciplines on scheduled calendar.
Surface: 80 m2

Point Éphémère wished to create a powerful production tool aimed at the artists through the installation of relevant and proper audio-visual equipment. The funds were not sufficient to fully implement this ambitious project. Point Éphémère is nevertheless equipped with sound recording material aimed at visual artists and dancers and modest video tools.

...PUBLIC EVENTS...
The Concert Hall

Surface: 340 m2
Capacity: 300 personnes
The concert hall has been voluntarily designed as a cosy equipment, claiming a reduced capacity in order to favour relations with the public. Dedicated to amplified music, the concert hall is also used for hybrid performances, video projections and conferences.

The Exhibition Hall
Surface: 120 m2
Opening Time: varies according to the exhibitions / free admittance.
The exhibition hall is located next to the restaurant. Based on the edge of the canal, a huge bay window lets sunlight during the day and neon lights at night get in, and blurs notions of inside and outside. If the proximity of the restaurant constantly brings a constantly renewed public, this cohabitation implies an interesting questioning regarding the exhibition.

The Dancing Hall
1 dancing hall ... 135 m2
The dancing studio offers a view from above on the canal. White walls and large mirrors completed by a light sound wiring. The third use of the dancing hall is public and professionals performances, within a reduced capacity of 60 persons, for residents.

...AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
Bar / Restaurant

Opened every day from 12pm until 2am
Closes at 8pm on Sundays.
Light cuisine on weekend lunches.
Terrace on the bank of the canal.
Prices: from 10 to 13 Euro at lunch.

Point Ephémère’s bar - restaurant is the space for public relations between the concert hall and the exhibition hall.
Its cuisine is traditional and convivial. The restaurant is open all day and, on the bank of the canal, its open-air terrace contributes, with the rest of Point Ephémère’s activities, to the revival of this par of the area, which used to be forsaken in the past.

Roof terrace
Activities: performing and fine arts show, summer restaurant.
Surface: 900 m2
This gigantic space makes Point Ephémère look like an elegant cruise liner. The terrace overhangs the surrounding area and is a privileged place. When summer comes, a light cuisine restaurant is opened to the public. An events’ programme is under preparation.

Dance Tutorials
Dance tutorials opened to the public are held in the evening during weekdays and in the weekend:
Mondays to Tuesdays: Capoeira by Association Canto de Capoeira
Wednesdays: Contact Dance by Stéphanie Auberville
Thursdays: Kung Fu par maitre Zong Hong
Saturdays: Eastern Dance
The dancing hall can be hired. Information and contact: Chloé Arnaud / + 33 140340248.

Private Hiring
Point Ephémère’s spaces (bar-restaurant, concert hall, exhibition hall) can be hired fir private events (movies filming, showcases, corporate events, ...).