Exhibition
Vies minuscules
24 Sep 2026 - 31 Jan 2027
24 Sep 2026 - 31 Jan 2027
Mathieu Pernot, « Priscilla, Cabine du photomaton », 1995 - © Adagp, Paris, 2026. Photo © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/Georges Meguerditchian/Dist. GrandPalaisRmn
The title of this exhibition is taken from Pierre Michon’s 1984 novel, which brings together eight portraits of strangers, from which he weaves his own biography. Made up of works from the Centre Pompidou collection, it examines how art has created space for the lives relegated to the margins of history books, testifying to their role, however infinitesimal, intimate or ignoble.
Mathieu Pernot, « Priscilla, Cabine du photomaton », 1995 - © Adagp, Paris, 2026. Photo © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/Georges Meguerditchian/Dist. GrandPalaisRmn
Deep inside the nave of the Pantheon, a monument dedicated to the great men and women of France, “Small Lives” presents works by some 30 artists, covering over a century of creation, from František Kupka to Jumana Manna.
By exploring the forgotten lives that artists have taken as their subject, the exhibition offers a new interpretation of history, one that considers “the power and authority of the archive and the limits it sets on what can be known”, in the words of historian Saidiya Hartman.
It features, in particular, Christian Boltanski (the installation Monument, 1986); Mathieu Pernot (Photomatons, 1995-1997); Teo Hernandez (two films, Gabriel and André Robillard, Michel Nedjar, 1985); Clarisse Hahn (the sculpture Pierre, 2015).
The works are arranged in three sections:
• Big and small: a modern concern
• The infinitesimal, the intimate and the ignoble
• From minuscule to monumental (and back again)
With this multidisciplinary exhibition at the Pantheon, the Centre des Monuments Nationaux joins the Centre Pompidou’s Constellation programme.
It is accompanied by a programme of live events.
In partnership with the Festival d’Automne in Paris, which is dedicating a portrait to her, choreographer Bouchra Ouizguen has imagined Nahl, an in situ creation.
Author and director Sébastien Kheroufi will present Les Enfants de la patrie (Children of the Motherland), a play imagined as an epilogue to his new work, La Mort du Môme (The Death of the Kid, which will be presented at Théâtre de la Colline in November 2026, co-produced by Centre Pompidou and Festival d’Automne).
The exhibition also presents Les Lettres ordinaires (The Ordinary Letters) by Adrianna Wallis, who wondered what happened to letters that could not reach their recipients: letters of love, friendship, family stories, inner tumult, hope and questions. There will be a reading of some of the letters by the artist and readers with whom she regularly works.
Also on the agenda
In connection with the exhibition and as part of the Alain Gomis retrospective by Centre Pompidou (at mk2 Bibliothèque × Centre Pompidou), the filmmaker has been invited to present a selection of films in the arthouse cinemas near the Pantheon.
A “Small Night”, with readings by actors and authors.
La Novia, a collective based in Haute-Loire that brings together professional musicians around traditional and/or experimental music, will offer musical experiences with Les Violoneuses, SAND and Jacques Puech.
€16 / Concessions €13
Where
When
25 Sep - 30 Sep 2026
10h - 18h30, every day
1st Oct 2026 - 31 Jan 2027
10h - 18h, every day
The first Monday of each month
12h - 18h
Partners
Exposition coproduite par le Centre Pompidou et le Centre des monuments nationaux
