Global Symposium

Montparnasse and its Legacies

November 13-14, 2026

Columbia Global Paris Center | Reid Hall

Paris, France

Hosted by Columbia University’s Reid Hall & the Columbia Global Paris Center, and organized in collaboration with the Associations L’AiR Arts and Cité Falguière, this symposium marks the beginning of Montparnasse International, a community-initiated programme designed to reaffirm the Montparnasse district as a historic epicenter for artistic creation and intercultural exchange.

Montparnasse has long been internationally recognized as a cradle of artistic production, renowned for the multicultural and heterogeneous avant-gardism that ignited at the dawn of the twentieth century. French artists and global practitioners alike were drawn to the district by its reputation for creative innovation and radical freedom. Yet, despite its deep association with some of the century's most celebrated figures—including Brâncuși, Soutine, Zadkine, Foujita, Modigliani, Picasso, and others—Montparnasse remains markedly under-examined and under-theorized as a holistic creative ecosystem.

While the first École de Paris (1905–1940) anchors the neighborhood's reputation and mythology, the artistic culture of Montparnasse continued to resonate into the postwar period, animated by figures such as Alberto Giacometti, Yves Klein, Niki de Saint Phalle, Agnès Varda, Frans Krajcberg, and Claude de Soria. Today, the legacy of the École de Paris serves as a powerful historical model for cultural hospitality, at a time when the necessity of cross-cultural dialogue is more pressing than ever.

This symposium aims to unite currently disparate but interlinked strands of research—spanning art history, museum studies, cultural anthropology, disability studies, gender studies, and queer theory—to initiate a long-term project decoding the complex creative ecosystem of Montparnasse, both past and present. In doing so, we seek to reexamine the relationship between Montparnassian creators and place, interrogating what made—and continues to make—this area a unique site of global creative fusion.

We invite proposals from scholars, artists / practitioners, archivists, museum and heritage professionals and key players in cultural mobility working inside and outside academic institutions. Conference contributions could take the form of either a twenty-minute academic paper, participation in a panel / round table discussion around a designated theme, or a performance.

Please note, the primary conference language will be English; no simultaneous translation will not be provided.

Please register online by x, 2026.

Recommended restaurants:

Recommended hotels:

Scientific Committee:

  • - Brunhilde Biebuyck, PhD, Columbia University, Director of Reid Hall & Columbia Global Paris Center

  • - Ewa Bobrowska, PhD, Board member, Association Cité Falguière

    - Marie Doezema, Senior Special Projects Manager, Columbia Global Paris Center

  • - Alexandra Franklin, Board member, Association Cité Falguière

  • - Louise Franklin, PhD, Board member, Association Cité Falguière

  • - Sofiya Glukhova, Archives & Catalogue raisonné Marc Chagall & Board member, Association Cité Falguière

  • - Stephanie Nadalo, PhD, Program Director (BFA), Parsons Paris & President, Association Cité Falguière

    - Mila Ovchinnikova, Founding Director & President, Association L’AiR Arts

  • - Clare Patrick, Curator and Program Manager, Association L’AiR Arts