French artist, DJ and producer Barbara Butch shot to international fame rather unpleasantly in 2024, when she took part in the “Feast of the Gods” scene during the Paris Olympics opening ceremony that was mistaken as an interpretation of “The Last Supper”.
The artist became the target of a torrent of online abuse, and even received death threats. With this year’s Nuit Blanche, she has responded to the hate with love – in all its forms.
“My artistic vision is about love because I feel like we need it more and more,” Butch said when unveiling the programme for the June 6 event alongside Paris’s new Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire.
Butch’s work often centres on inclusion and diversity. “The idea has been to create a participatory and inclusive Nuit Blanche that is accessible to everyone,” she said.
“Even those not familiar with contemporary art should be able to think, ‘It doesn’t matter, I’m going there anyway to experience an emotion and share a moment with other Parisians’. It’s about real feeling.”
In addition to Butch’s artistic programme, hundreds of other artworks will be on show in the French capital and the greater Paris region as well as in Le Havre, this year’s partner city.
The full schedule can be found on the Nuit Blanche 2026 website (in French).
Some programme highlights:
“La déclaration”
Butch and her collaborators will kick off the festivities at City Hall on the edge of the Marais in the heart of the city, where a fitness club will host a gym class to the sounds of a playlist put together by the curator herself. Butch has revealed that a still-secret but “very famous” French pop singer will be among the evening’s opening performers.
The event will also provide an opportunity for the artistic director to present her latest project with gospel singers. A majorette troupe, Les Major Girls de Montpellier, will then make their first performance of the evening before heading over to the Bassin de la Villette in northern Paris where they will continue their show. The troupe will also launch “Pulsar”, a light projection by image choreography group ALT SHIFT and V.P.M., designed to evoke the rhythm of a beating heart that will be shown on the façade of City Hall.
Where? Paris City Hall in the 4th arrondissement (district)
The festivities at City Hall are just the beginning of a long night that will see Paris transformed into a giant open-air exhibition.
“On s’aime” (We love each other)
For this project, Butch invited Parisians to step in front of the camera and deliver a simple message: “On s’aime.” A kaleidoscope of the short videos will be broadcast on LED trucks travelling through the streets of Paris throughout the night.
Where? Everywhere
“Carpet Museum of Iran”
David Mottahedèh, an Israeli artist born to Iranian immigrants, has created this large-scale video installation that blends two pre-Islamic Revolution traditions into one: female singers and Persian carpets. Tiny video portraits of women – collected from archive footage – come together to form a giant pattern reminiscent of a Persian carpet. Although their singing faces can be seen moving, their voices cannot be heard.
Where? Jardin des Rosiers Joseph Migneret, 10 rue des Rosiers, in the 4th arrondissement
“C’est toi qu’on adore” (You’re the one we adore), “Drummers” and “Yellow Party”
Paris’s central Marais neighbourhood will host the world of dance, where choreographers Leïla Ka and Olivier Dubois will showcase routines performed by both professional and amateur dancers.
The evening will end with Mickaël Phelippeau’s collective “Yellow Party”, to which the artist has asked all participants to bring a yellow accessory.
Where? Le Carreau du Temple, 4 rue Eugène Spuller, in the 3rd arrondissement
“Recoudre la nuit” (Mending the night)
Contemporary visual artist Romuald Jandolo has created an installation that explores the shifting meanings of symbols across cultures and borders. His art installation is centred on the pointed hood, worn during Holy Week processions in southern Europe but often associated with darker meanings elsewhere. A rotating constellation of suspended silhouettes will slowly float through the space, animated by disco ball motors.
Where? Gymnase Japy, 2 rue Japy, in the 11th arrondissement
“Sous le poids du ciel” (Under the weight of the sky)
Artist and researcher Marie-Luce Nadal embraces atmospheric phenomena in her work, “not as scientific objects, but as poetic and political material”. Her immersive contribution to the event captures the impacts of thunder and lightning on Earth almost in real time, where she says every rumble is replaced by “a whisper, a wish, a desire or an intention for the world”. Thousands of people from across the globe have lent their voices to her “global sound constellation”.
Where? Église Saint-Laurent, 68 boulevard Magenta, in the 10th arrondissement
“Falando de amor” (Speaking of love)
Created by 14 students from the Beaux-Arts School in Paris, this immersive exhibit transforms Espace Niemeyer – home to the French Communist Party since the 1960s – into a sensory exploration of love and the building’s history through sound, light and projections.
Where? Espace Niemeyer, 6 Avenue Mathurin Moreau (Porte B), in the 19th arrondissement
‘Sirénocturne’
Paris’s oldest covered swimming pool, the Château-Landon, will host some 30 mermaids who will take spectators on an imaginary journey through the themes of love and desire.
France’s première mermaid, Claire la sirène, is also taking part in the aquatic performance created by French artist Annette Messager.
Where? Piscine Château-Landon, 31, rue du Château-Landon, in the 10th arrondissement
‘We rise by lifting others’
Italian artist Marinella Senatore will be showcasing a light installation that consists of a large-scale metal structure lit up with different-coloured LED lights along with illuminated and thought-provoking messages.
Where? Place de la Bataille-de-Stalingrad, in the 19th arrondissement
“À contre-courant” (Against the current)
This is said to be one of artistic director Butch’s favourite installations of the evening.
La Lusa, a traditional French fishing boat known as a “pointu”, left the southern port city of Sète at the beginning of April.
Since then, it has slowly travelled through France’s rivers and canals to finally make it to Paris’s Bassin de la Villette canal. During its journey, Mr. & Mr. – the artistic team behind the project – embellished it with everything found along the way.
Where? Promenade Éric-Tabarly, in the 19th arrondissement
“Liquid Mirror”
Visual artist Mathias Kiss has returned to Paris’s emblematic Petit Palais museum with sprawling mirror mosaics that appear to be flowing through the building like spilled liquid. The installation reflects the artist’s longstanding connection to the museum, where he worked years ago as a specialist craftsman restoring historic monuments.
Kiss says the work expresses “freedom and stepping out of the frame”.
Where? Petit Palais, 2 avenue Winston-Churchill, in the 8th arrondissement
“Big heart”
“My Heart Is Bigger Than My Fear” is an illuminated inflatable heart designed by Polish artist Milo Kulusevski that can be seen in front of the Grand Palais. The installation calls for spectators to open their hearts rather than to give in to fear and withdrawal.
Where ? Grand Palais, avenue Winston Churchill, in the 8th arrondissement
“Une brise d’amour dans la nuit à passé” (A breeze of love passed through the night)
The Fondation Louis Vuitton will host an evening of poetry readings and video screenings from its collection.
Where? Fondation Louis Vuitton (auditorium), 8 Avenue du Mahatma Gandhi, in the 16th arrondissement
This story originally appeared on France24
