Cover image: Promo image for the 4th edition of the International Competition of Great African Opera Voices
Screenshot from Africa Lyric's Opera Website

The Paris Noir exhibition at the Centre Pompidou is dominating the conversation around arts events in Paris these days.  For anyone who is interested in visual arts - painting, sculpture, photography, and even film - this show is not to be missed.

But there are lots of other things for arts aficionados to see and do in Paris this month. 

Find a listing of a few of them below.

VISUAL ARTS

Roots - Barthélémy Toguo at Galerie Lelong

Roots VIII 2025 Linogravure by Barthélémy Toguo
Image used for exhibition invitation card

Through April 30, 2025, Galerie Lelong is displaying 15 new linocuts by Cameroonian artist Barthélémy Toguo in an exhibition called Roots. These works are accompanied by wooden bas-reliefs from Toguo's Bilongue series (2015).

Galerie Lelong has mounted seven solo exhibitions of Toguo's work since 2010.

Roots is the fourth of these shows.

Galerie Lelong
13 rue de Téhéran
75008 Paris
Telephone: 01.45.63.13.19

Venus Noire - An Artistic Homage to Josephine Baker

2025 marks the 50th anniversary of Josephine Baker's death and the 100th anniversary of her first Paris show, "La Revue Nègre."

In honor of these dates, the Strouk Gallery is hosting an exhibition called Venus Noire - Un Hommage Artistique à Joséphine Baker.  It is filled with works that pay homage to Josephine, who was known as the "Black Venus."

Through April 26, 2025, several events will give voice to artists, authors, academics, designers, DJs, directors, activists, and more, exploring various aspects of Josephine Baker's life that continue to inspire us today.

Screenshot from Strouk Gallery Website

Ming Smith, an African-American photographer whose work is being shown at the Paris Noir exhibition, has several self-portraits as Josephine Baker on display in Venus Noire.

Strouk Gallery
2, avenue Matignon
75008 Paris
Telephone: 01.40.46.89.06

Lorraine O'Grady - Mariane Ibrahim Gallery

Mariane Ibrahim is honored to present Lorraine O’Grady, the artist’s first solo exhibition in Paris and her second with the Mariane Ibrahim gallery.

LEFT: Lorraine O'Grady in her apartment, Christianshavn, Copenhagen, 1962
RIGHT: Lorraine O'Grady by Elia Alba, New York, 2014
Photos by Lorraine O'Grady
Source: Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0

This special presentation is the first since O'Grady's passing in December 2024.  Featuring work spanning four decades (1981-2021), it aims to celebrate the artist's extraordinary legacy as an educator, performer, and visual artist.

Lorraine O'Grady will be on display through May 31, 2025.

Mariane Ibrahim Gallery
18, rue Matignon
75008 Paris
Telephone: 01.81.72.24.60

MUSIC

Coup Fatal - Théâtre du Rond Point

Coup Fatal (Fatal Blow) is a show at the crossroads of theater, music and dance in which musicians, mostly from the Democratic Republic of Congo, merge baroque and traditional Congolese music with rock and jazz.

Scene from Coup Fatal
Image from Théâtre du Rond Point press release
Photographer: Chris Van den Burght

The sapeur (dandy) tradition of Congo will be woven into the performances in this show, which will be on stage through April 5, 2025.

Théâtre du Rond Point
2bis, avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt
75008 Paris
Telephone: 01.44.95.98.00

Benjamin Clementine - Olympia

On April 8, Britain's Benjamin Clementine will perform songs from his fourth and final album, Sir Introvert and the Featherweights, at the iconic Olympia Theater.

Screenshot from Olympia Theater Website

From the Olympia Website:

"[Clementine] professes to be an artist whose music is only one element of his creative journey, most notable with his acting roles in Denis Villeneuve’s multiple Oscar-winning film ‘Dune’ and ‘Blitz’ with Oscar winning film Director Sir Steve McQueen. This album marks the end of a musical journey, as Clementine is now venturing into the realms of Film Entertainment."

L'Olympia
28 boulevard des Capucines
75009 Paris
Telephone: 01.47.42.94.88

Concours Grandes Voix d'Afrique - l'Athénée Théâtre Louis-Jouvet

The Athénée Théâtre Louis-Jouvet is hosting the 4th edition of the International Competition of Great African Opera Voices.

Led by Africa Lyric's Opera, a WOMEN OF AFRICA initiative, this competition aims to promote and strengthen the accessibility of opera in all its diversity.

The Africa Lyric's Opera initiative has supported, accompanied and promoted diverse lyrical artists, instrumentalists and composers through training, creation, professional integration and the organisation of events since 2007.

By highlighting new voices from the African and Afro-descendant diaspora, the Competition of Great African Voices aims to showcase African talent to both opera professionals and the general public.

Screenshot from Africa Lyric's Opera

The semi-final competition for this year's event will take place on April 24, 2025. 

The final competition will take place on April 26, 2025.

Reserve your seats for these competitions by clicking HERE. (Entry to the semi-final competition is free of charge.)

Athénée
2-4, square de l'Opéra Louis-Jouvet
75009 Paris
Telephone: 01.53.05.19.19