For the 2024 Olympics, Paris has become an open-air art gallery. In part three of our arts24 Olympic series, we talk to American artist Alison Saar, who was commissioned to create an Olympic sculpture at the foot of the famous Paris avenue, the Champs-Élysées. The work, entitled "The Salon", shows a Black woman holding an olive branch and a golden flame – designed for the city of lights by an artist from the city that will host the next Games in 2028, Los Angeles.
We also hear from renowned French photographer Raymond Depardon and his son Simon, who have created the largest open-air photographic trail ever made for public viewing. This monumental visual journey showcases Raymond Depardon's legendary photos taken during the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Mexico, Munich and Montreal between 1964 and 1976. In the spirit of an Olympic relay, these photos are complemented by a series of portraits taken by Simon Depardon of athletes from the French Olympic team.
We finish at Paris's National Assembly, where six sculptures by French artist Laurent Perbos are on display, inspired by the Louvre's Venus de Milo, one of the best-known statues in the world. Each sculpture has an Olympic discipline, including basketball, boxing, javelin throwing and para-archery.
Watch moreParis 2024: Mathieu Forget makes photography an Olympic art (2/5)
Watch moreParis 2024: Sport and culture at the Games, a long love story (1/5)
