To enliven the city again, the singer-songwriter Mika had the idea to give color back to Paris by repurposing these advertising spaces with original and previously unreleased artistic posters. Accompanied by his sister Paloma, Mika sought out artists and illustrators and with the insight of Olivier Gabet, Director of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, 9 artists were commissioned and given carte blanche to design works that will brighten up the city.
Mika led the charge of this artistic project in record time and also took part as an artist himself, creating an original work with his sister, Yasmine Penniman.
The artists chosen include Aurélia Durand, Laurindo Feliciano, Ugo Gattoni, Annick Kamgang, Marie Mohanna, Lamia Ziade, Alexandre Benjamin Navet, Lamarche-Ovize and Rosa Maria Unda Souki, all of whom reconnected with the long tradition of artistic posters of la Belle Époque, following in the footsteps of Toulouse-Lautrec or Alphonse Mucha.
Thanks to the generosity of the Ville de Paris and JCDecaux, who embraced Mika’s idea, these posters will appear on flagpoles and JCDecaux advertising columns at 2,000 locations all across Paris, transforming the city into an open-air gallery during all the month of March.
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Lamarche-Ovize, Bus shelter poster “L’échappée du moa”, 2021 © DR -
Alexandre Benjamin Navet, Bus shelter poster “Retrouvailles au jardin”, 2021 © DR -
Annick Kamgang, Bus shelter poster “Papa”, 2021 © DR -
Aurélia Durand, Bus shelter poster “Une soirée d’été à Paris”, 2021 © DR -
Lamia Ziadé, Bus shelter poster “Dieux et temples, oracles et orgies”, 2021 © DR -
Laurindo Féliciano, Bus shelter poster “L’Hypothèse dualiste” 2021 © DR -
Mika & Yasmine, Bus shelter poster “For The Rite of Spring”, 2021 © DR -
Rosa Maria Unda Souki, Bus shelter poster “À coeur ouvert”, 2021 © DR -
Ugo Gattoni, Bus shelter poster “Nebula 001”, 2021 © DR -
Marie Mohanna, affiche abribus “Célestes”, 2021 © DR