CULTURAL VENUE FOR EMERGING VOICES

Inauguration of Magasins Généraux, 2016. Photo © Dorian Prost
THE MAGASINS GÉNÉRAUX ARE A CULTURAL VENUE CREATED BY BETC IN 2017. OPEN TO ALL, THE MAGASINS GÉNÉRAUX ARE A PLACE FOR CREATIVITY, IDEAS AND EMERGING VOICES. HOUSED IN A RENOVATED INDUSTRIAL BUILDING — A FORMER 1930S GENERAL STORE — LOCATED ON THE BANKS OF THE CANAL DE L'OURCQ IN PANTIN, THE MAGASINS GÉNÉRAUX CURATE A YEAR-ROUND PROGRAM OF EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS WITH THE PURPOSE OF IDENTIFYING, SUPPORTING AND SHOWCASING TODAY'S EMERGING ARTISTIC AND CULTURAL SCENE.
Les Magasins Généraux in 2013. Photo © Yves Marchand & Romain Meffre

THE SITE'S HISTORY

Originally constructed in the early 1930s, the Magasins Généraux had a significant impact on Pantin's industrial landscape for over four decades. After being left abandoned and neglected in the late 1990s, the site was taken over by graffiti artists from all over the world, and became known as the "cathedral of graffiti". In 2016, advertising agency BETC publicly inaugurated the Magasins Généraux, rehabilitated by architect Frédéric Jung. This marked the beginning of a new chapter for the building, as it became a collective workplace and a cultural venue for emerging voices in the heart of the Greater Paris area.

Highlights since opening

april 8 2017
june 9 2018
october 12 2018
may 9 2019
june 21 2019
june 13 2020
june 12 2021
october 16 2021
january 15 2022
june 24 2022
march 17 2023
may 23 2023
february 16 2024
september 27 2024
224 000Visitors
224 000Visitors
224 000Visitors
224 000Visitors
336Artists
336Artists
336Artists
336Artists
63Events
63Events
63Events
63Events
Exhibition-festival « Utopi·e first edition », 2022. Photo © Mathis Payet Descombes - Magasins Généraux

OUR MISSIONS

INVENTING A CULTURAL VENUE FOR EMERGING VOICES

The Magasins Généraux aim to identify, support and make visible the artists, creators, project leaders, thinkers, activists, non-profits and the general public from all backgrounds contributing to the vibrant emerging artistic and cultural landscape.

By committing to these emerging voices, their inspirations, their projects and their interests, the Magasins Généraux intend to become a place where tomorrow's art and ideas meet and come to life.

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Summer exhibition « Par amour du jeu », 2018. Photo © Tadzio
GENERATING NEW CULTURAL FORMS

As an artistic laboratory with a wide range of creative fields, the Magasins Généraux offer a diverse range of programming formats. Our programming is built around issues that affect society, the values of inclusiveness and the challenges of social and ecological transition while appealing to the broadest possible audience.

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Summer exhibition « Par amour du jeu », 2018. Photo © IHeart Magazine
GET OUR PUBLIC INVOLVED

The Magasins Généraux have built up a solid network of local institutional, educational and community partners in Pantin, Seine-Saint-Denis and the Greater Paris area.

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Launch event of the Guide des Grands Parisiens, 2018. Photo © Magasins Généraux
IMAGINE THE GREATER PARIS

Through their local roots in Pantin, a rapidly changing urban laboratory in the heart of the Seine-Saint-Denis area, the Magasins Généraux actively participate in the energy and emergence of a new territorial scale: that of a Greater Paris that is freed from historic urban borders and the ring road. By putting this new scale at the heart of their project, the Magasins Généraux offer a new vision of the metropolis and contribute to uniting its inhabitants.

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« Single, Not Sorry », creation residency as part of the summer exhibition « Futures of Love », 2019. Photo © Camille Poitevin, Tinder & Magasins Généraux
CO-CREATING CUSTOM PROJECTS

The Magasins Généraux firmly believe in the potential for brands or venues to express their identity through art and culture. We use our expertise to advise these actors and co-create tailor-made actions and programs in the artistic and cultural field.

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