The 10th edition !

« The Great Game »

Newsletter #7

Nice has 3 giant screens: the sky, the sea and OVNi!

Hotels Itinerary

Je suis amoureuse de tout le monde © Miel Pagès

Immerse yourself in the universe of each artist through the Parcours Hôtels in 50 rooms chosen for this edition.

From November 29 to December 1, OVNi will be visiting six hotels in Nice! The Deck hotel, the NAP hotel, the Villa Victoria, the Grimaldi hotel, the West End and the WindsoR Jungle Art hotel.

This year, OVNi is turning the hotel scene on its head, with the PRIX OVNi Cosmopolis and OVNi Sud Emergence awards moving to new venues and new hotels joining the OVNi game.

The West End on the Promenade des Anglais is resolutely international, with the participation of foreign cultural institutes and international foundations, and a selection that is part of the Prix Cosmopolis.

The Grimaldi by happy culture supports the creation of our region, a project aimed at emerging artists from the Grand Sud region, this year including the Sud and Occitanie regions for the Prix Sud Emergence…

We’ll be coming back shortly to these 2 awards and the prize-giving ceremony at the Théâtre National de Nice. Instead, today we’d like to introduce you to the Guest Curator Project at the other 4 hotels.

Curator invité program

Minimal Art © Ariane Loze

At the Deck hotel by happyculture, enjoy installations by artists from the Pavillon Bosio. Isaac Elbaz & Agathe Rousseau, Claire Heraud, Eléonore Kabouche, Noé Rosticher, take possession of 4 rooms for a weekend, at the invitation of Thierry Leviez, under the aegis of the Pavillon Bosio.

At the NAP by happyculture hotel, Isabelle de Maison Rouge and Guillaume Theulière are bringing together Agnès Guillaume, Bérengère Hénin, Ariane Loze and Ahmad Reshad, who are also taking over 4 of the hotel’s rooms.

This year, OVNi also pays tribute to Ukrainian artists, the second part of the exhibition initiated in 2022. Under the impetus of Oleksandra Khalepa and Carbon Residence, Villa Victoria is decked out in Ukrainian colors, with New Media artists straight from Kiev! Come and discover sound and visual installations by Lina Khorolska, Kateryna Pits, and Svitlana Reinish.

« Chambres d’Amis » program

One billion dots © Robert Barry

The Hotel Windsor, partially included in the guest curator program, welcomes a new concept: “Chambres d’amis”. A reference to Jan Hoet’s 1987 exhibition, which gave rise to the hotel’s collection of rooms from 1989 onwards. For OVNi, these rooms are thus inhabited by video art in a way that is sometimes subtle and discreet, sometimes metamorphosed into an immersive world, a plunge into the universe of the guest video artist.

For this edition of the OVNi festival, 24 rooms will be open to the public, including works by Samta Benyahía, Cécile Bart, Robert Barry, Ben, Noel Dolla, Joel Ducoroy, Jean Dupuy, Raymond Hains, Gottfried Honegger, Jean Le GAC, Mathieu Mercier, François Morellet, Olivier Mosset, Olivier Nottellet, Henri Olivier, Claudio Parmigiani, Philippe Perrin, Caroline Rivalan, Nicolas Rubinstein, Felice Varini.

For this 10th edition of the Great Game, these same artists were invited to choose a video work to present in “their room”. Occasionally, and particularly for friends who left too soon, we invited curators such as Christian Bernard, Martine de la Châtre, Michèle Didier, Fabienne Grasser-Fulchéri, Nadine Gomez, Benjamin Laugier, Thierry Leviez and Eva Vautier to take the place of the artist in the room… Play along and guess who’s been invited where…

You’ll be surprised by works by Mouna Bakouli, Amy Grat and Drew Heitzler, Mathieu Laurette, Ange Leccia, Pia Maria Martin, Eva Medin, François Nemeta, Lucas Lemme, Mika Rottenberg, Smarin, Aldéric Trevel, Vincent Volkart, Jean Baptiste Warluzel. Play along and guess who chose whom…

Les chambres d’Amis also includes artists in residence who are returning their work: Julia Borderie and Eloise Gallo, in residence in 2023, and Giulia Grossman, with Mer Intérieure, an OVNi production as part of the Cultural Olympiad supported by the Ministry of Culture and the Southern Region, in residence in early 2024.

We’ll meet up with friends who support young artists, such as the Musée Chagall with Jeremy Griffaut, the Cinéma de Beaulieu, which presents Florian Schonerstedt, and the Villa Arson, which supports video teacher Pia Maria Martin’s room.

Finally, we’ll be discovering the work of Maxime Chkoulánov, who is creating the game of an exhibition video-visit in the Lobby of the Windsor Hotel.