Dealer Thaddaeus Ropac Will Hand Over His Biggest Paris Gallery to 60 Young European Artists to Support the Region’s Hard-Hit Art Scene

Thaddaeus Ropac is giving over
one of his Paris galleries to support young artists and dealers who
have been affected by the coronavirus crisis. For two weeks in
September, Ropac’s space in Pantin will host an exhibition of 60
young artists from France and Belgium in an expression of
solidarity with a new scene that is facing an existential crisis
due to loss of income.

France’s lockdown has had a
devastating impact on its small businesses and young creatives. A
damning report by the country’s leading gallery association
predicted in April that as many as a third of French galleries
could be put out of business by the end of the crisis.

“I was shocked by the news of
the number of young galleries that would be in danger of not
reopening in the fall,” Ropac tells Artnet News. “I couldn’t
believe it.”

So the gallerist got to
thinking: “How could we create something which really helps younger
colleagues in this period?” 

The 60 artists were selected by
the emerging artist association Jeune Création. All of the proceeds
from the sale of works will go directly to the artists and their
galleries.

The move echoes a similar initiative by
French dealer Emmanuel Perrotin who is giving over one of his Paris
spaces to 26 local galleries once it reopens at the end of May.

Both galleries have been closed since March, making their
reopenings—Ropac is slated to resume operations on May
11—a critical time to make sales to
recover from the lost income.

“We are offering them the space,
as well as our infrastructure, with all of our sales team helping
to sell the works, and we will bring in our collectors,” Ropac
says.

The exhibition will be on view
from September 12 through 26 in the 21,000-square-foot space, which
is Ropac’s largest gallery.

Ropac has also promised to set
aside some of the gallery’s own budget to buy works from the
exhibition. “I hope people will see it as a strong statement of
support,” Ropac says, adding that he hopes the gallery’s collectors
will also embrace the opportunity to give a boost to the next
generation of artists and dealers.

The post Dealer Thaddaeus Ropac Will Hand Over His Biggest
Paris Gallery to 60 Young European Artists to Support the Region’s
Hard-Hit Art Scene appeared first on artnet News.