The interest for visual performance art is growing on the international scene. In Asia the number festivals and of practicing artists is growing steadily, as well as in Latin America. In Europe there are more than 150 organizers of performance art events of different size.

The recent surge of performance art as an expression in contemporary art is manifest, especially in what concerns a younger generation of artists. The movement is there. Whether it is the beginning of a shift of paradigm is not the issue, but it is a surge that gets more and more important.

We are very pleased to be able to present Infr’Action Paris 010 like last year in conjunction with La Nuit des Musées which attracted approximately 1700 people. This is our way to take advantage of a moment when an art interested audience is visiting the cultural institutions of the capital, as to showcase live international avant-garde art, performance art. Which unfortunately doesn’t yet have the established position it should.

It was our ambition in 2009 that Infr’Action Paris should become a recurrent event, and this years edition proves that our objective has been reached. It is of course our mission to  continue in this direction and present international performance art in the capital, on a regular basis.

For this second edition we are proud to present 17 major and emerging international performance artists during three days in the center of Paris. One of the curatorial criteria is to feature a mix of younger and emerging artists with their natural energy, ambition and inventiveness alongside the experience and quality of some of the most important artist on the international scene. We are convinced that this inter-generational blend of different tendencies in contemporary performance art will make Infr’Action Paris once more an artistically high-profile, experimental and thought-provoking event beyond the mainstream.

That’s why Infr’Action Paris renews the experience by showcasing for the second year in a row, in the heart of the French capital, 17 artists coming from different horizons and notoriety. As such a dynamic between generations is created, giving a rich overview of different contemporary expressions in this field of contemporary art.

Julien Blaine. Infr'Action Sète. 2005.© Stein Henningsen & Infr'Action.

As a starting point of the festival a conference is organised with artists and media personalities who will debate on ”Performance art in France today”.

True to its slogan, Infr’Action Paris wants to be both avant-garde and popular, and give the audience an immediate access to contemporary creation and performance art, without a box office. For four days, the artists and their audience take hold of the Marais area, occupying the spaces of the Swedish institute in Paris.

On Saturday, May 15, the festival is part of the program of the Museum Night, la Nuit des Musées, a highly cultural and popular event. On Sunday May 16, Infr’Action Paris goes to the marché d'Aligre, one of the most animated morning markets in Paris. Rendez-vous at 11 am to 1 pm at place d’Aligre between le faubourg Saint-Antoine and rue de Charenton. It will surely be a great experience and an uforgettable moment.

Infr'Action Paris is here and now, it's ephemeral, it has attitude, it's fleeting, and it is avant-garde.