The Cour Carré has taken on an Italian decor, in the style of a Neapolitan village square, a nod to its flagship exhibition held in the Grande Galerie. In the center, sits a huge cardboard building. Some 2,500 deckchairs have been installed throughout this majestic space in the Louvre. Thursday evening, the Paradiso cinema season at the Louvre is launched. From July 6 to 9, the Parisian museum is teaming up with Mk2 for a few open-air cinema sessions. On the giant screen, Goodfellas by Martin Scorsese will be projected. Apart from the guests of the partners, the spectators were drawn by lot.
The Louvre Museum has launched a new summer festival this year. For Laurence des Cars, its president, it is a question of “bringing Parisians and Ile-de-France residents back to the museum and making the collections reason through other artistic practices”. And since the event begins with the summer, it is the outdoor spaces that are invested by the organizers. The average age of spectators drawn for this free evening is between 25 and 35 years old. Right on target for organizers who want to convince that the most beautiful museum in the world is not just a place for foreign tourists.
The festival, which will take place every year, gives pride of place to theatre, classical and more current music, and of course to open-air cinema. Thursday evening, a spectator even wondered why the Louvre would not do this kind of event all summer. But for Laurence des Cars, the organization of such an event would involve too large a budget. “Parisians are sensitive to events, the limited duration of an event makes you want to”. This year, the festival will end with the concert of the Neapolitan group Nu Genea under the pyramid on July 20. On the cinema side, the Louvre will screen films until Sunday July 9. Friday will be Eight and a Half by Federico Fellini.
