Inside the Paris art scene

FOR many artists the appeal of heading to Paris and establishing a reputation within their field sees many head to the capital city.

But the challenge of actually moving to a new place, as well as find the people in the know, can see many head back home before they have found their feet.

The option of packing her bags and heading back to Scotland never crossed the mind of conceptual artist Susie Hollands, right, when she arrived in Paris.

And since her arrival in the City of Light, Susie has created the I V Y Paris website to provide a link for artists in the city, as well as a resource for people to find their way around the Parisian art scene.

“I V Y Paris started life as five artists getting together to hold an exhibition in late 2003,” Susie said.

“There was a painter, sculptor, jewellery designer, photographer and myself and within two weeks of deciding we were holding a show we’d found a gallery space, rented it, painted and scrubbed it and sent out a quick email blast to those we’d hoped would come to the vernissage.

“We split the costs five ways to make things affordable. A few finishing touches to the work to be exposed and we were ready.”

This first show proved a great success and the sales from it more than covered the cost and proved to Susie that there was a real need for a base from which other artists could establish themselves.

“The site brings artists and aspiring artists together to organize group expositions and events in Paris and abroad, as well as to support and inspire each other,” Susie explained.

And the site also provides a news section that keeps people up-to-date with the latest openings and exhibitions, as well as keeping an eye on the Paris fashion scene.

One of the best features of the site is the Salon, which uses the community tools of MeetUp, to promote regular get-togethers and allows people to quickly get to know others.