The director general of Paris La Défense, Pierre-Yves Guice, has the ambition to position La Défense as a cultural destination, going beyond being a transit or work area. This vision sets the tone for the new edition of the Extatiques, which kicks off on Friday, April 3, 2026.
After a one-year hiatus, the iconic contemporary art event in Europe’s premier business district is stepping up its game. For its eighth edition, it returns in a revamped format. Over the six previous editions, the cultural event offered visitors the chance to discover sculptures, mostly monumental, scattered throughout the district.
This year, for its eighth season titled “Other Worlds,” the festival will take place both above ground and underground, in places normally inaccessible to visitors.
Becoming a full-fledged cultural season, this event now operates on a longer timescale. It reflects a desire to firmly anchor creation at the core of the territory, not as a one-off event, but as a defining feature of our urban and cultural project. This new format aligns with the goal of moving the district beyond just being associated with offices.
The season opens on Friday with the exhibition “Under the Horizon,” running until April 26 in the Salle des Colonnes located beneath the Grande Arche de La Défense.
In this 1,000 square meter space usually off-limits to the public, visitors who have booked their visit in advance (from Monday to Sunday, €9) will wander in the darkness, with a flashlight and audio headset. The journey includes a sensory experience created by artists Antoine Bertin, Ugo Schiavi, Jérémie Brugidou, and Shivay la Multiple.
Guided by a narrative written by Mariette Navarro and narrated by Emily Loizeau, visitors will be immersed in the discovery of sculptures and sound installations, diving into the depths of the underwater abyss.
In June, the festival will resurface with Collectif XY, whose twenty acrobat artists will take over the district from June 8 to 12 with their creation “Les voyages.” They will surprise La Défense employees and visitors in various locations around the district, from the base of the towers to the shopping center.
The artists from the collective will also invite spectators to the first performance in France of the reinterpreted version of their show “Möbius” on June 9, which can be enjoyed twice, at 12:30 PM and 6:00 PM, at the foot of the steps of the Grande Arche.
The season will come to a close in the fall with the photographic exhibition “Breaches,” designed for the Bicentennial of photography. The exhibition will be displayed on construction walls, urban furniture, building facades, and advertising spaces.
Throughout the season, there will be three main highlights punctuated by “Les sociétés secrètes,” a series of ten events allowing the public to discover iconic artworks on the esplanade of La Défense, such as the Moretti Monster. Also on the agenda: a “Science Bar” with scientists and artists from the exhibition “Under the Horizon,” as well as tastings and concerts on the Jetée, the footbridge located behind the Grande Arche.
This is an opportunity for Paris La Défense to highlight that the sixty monumental sculptures present throughout the year make the district “the largest open-air museum.” One of them, “The Red Spider,” will undergo restoration in the second semester to mark the fiftieth anniversary of its installation and the death of its creator, Alexander Calder, in 1976.
“Sous l’horizon,” from April 3 to 26. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays from 10:00 AM to 7:30 PM, and Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Price: €9. Information on parisladefense.com and reservations on archie.parisladefense.com. Not suitable for children under ten years old.
