Art for demolition: Tour 13 in Paris

Street art is short-lived by definition. It fights a losing battle with convention and urban beautification. While not strictly in the street – the art is located inside an apartment building – this collective urban art manifestation will disappear forever in less than 30 days. Tour 13 in Paris is scheduled for demolition in November, but it will live forever in digital form. In the way of many relevant art movements, street art is inching its way inwards from the fringes of counter-culture into the mainstream.

A group of over 80 artists from 16 countries took to the 26 apartments to transform them into ephemeral works of art. The site is located in the 13th arrondissement, across from the Ministry of Economy on the Seine.

Tour 13 used to be five floors of apartment buildings destined for railway workers, and will now be torn down to rebuild social housing. The digital memory of the art will remain in photos, video and a 52-minute documentary.

Through October 31
Tour Paris 13 – Rue Fulton
Free admision noon to 8pm
www.tourparis13.fr

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