FRENCH PLACE is an art organisation and an incubator for critical contemporary practices. Operating as a proto–institution — situated between an art foundation and a gallery — we support experimentation, foster exchange, and offer time and space for collaboration.
Founded at 9 French Place, Shoreditch, London — FRENCH PLACE enters its next chapter in Milan, where our programme extends across exhibitions, an artist residency, and research–driven initiatives that support deep engagement with contemporary practice.
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Cecilia Mentasti is the winner of the 2026 edition of the Because of Many Suns Prize at Art-O-Rama in Marseille, with the acquisition of two works from the series Ovunque ma non qui (Anywhere but Here).
This marks the first time the prize has been awarded to an Italian gallery and artist at ART-O-RAMA in Marseille, making the recognition particularly meaningful to us.
Cecilia’s work stood out for the freshness and audacity of her approach, combining a strong formal presence with a practice that feels both precise and open.
As for the work itself, a drawing reproducing the fair’s emergency evacuation plan, its arrows and signs rendered through stickers designed by the artist. A diagram whose sole purpose is to indicate how bodies should leave the exhibition space is thus brought into the exhibition itself. Usually peripheral and almost invisible, the plan introduces another possible movement through the fair: not the circulation of visitors towards artworks or of artworks towards acquisition, but a route leading towards where the artist wants you to be, or, perhaps, where she herself would rather be during the fair’s most hectic moments.
The map is requested by a person close to the artist, suffering from agoraphobia, via email to the various institutions of art - museums, galleries, and, of course, Art-O-Rama.29.08.26
FRENCH PLACE (MILAN) OPENS
FRENCH PLACE opens with inaugural group exhibition CORALE and video programme by RILEY TU on the 29th January 2026.
22.01.26