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A 1000m² street art portait of Josephine Baker in front of the Panthéon on 3rd June 2022

Josephine Baker’s remains were relocated to the Pantheon last November, and today would have been her 116th birthday. To celebrate, a huge portrait of Baker by artist Gwendoline Finaz has been unveiled in front of the building (opposite the the Hotel les Dames du Panthéon and Hoel des Grands Hommes).

Un portrait street-art de Joséphine Baker de 1000m² devant le Panthéon le 3 juin 2022
© Gwendoline Finaz

In preparation since last year, today is the big day for artist Gwendoline Finaz and her giant fresco of Josephine Baker. On the large triangle of cobblestones in front of the Pantheon, his work reminds of (among other things) that Baker was the first ever woman of colour to be entered into the Pantheon’s crypt.

Make sure to go down and see the piece immediately, as it is due to be cut into pieces before the end of the day, and these pieces will be gifted to passers-by. It’s your chance to get a souvenir of Paris unlike any other!

Also on offer during the day is a performance piece by dancer Yaman Okur on the portrait, and views from above taken by drone and streamed live on the social networks (except we can’t find them 😬).

If you like Finaz’s works (her full name is actually Gwendoline Finaz de Villaine, and she’s also an author and singer), you might like to check out her new exhibition Crazy Caviar which opens on 9th June 2022 at the Ellia Art Gallery (here).

It runs for five weeks, and unusually you can buy merchandise based on the artist’s work, such as t-shirts and baseball caps. The original portrait of Josephine is also available, for the bargain price of just 5.000€ 😲

Un portrait street-art de Joséphine Baker de 1000m² devant le Panthéon le 3 juin 2022

The street art portrait of Josephine Baker by Gwendoline Finaz de Villaine is just in front of the Pantheon on 3rd June 2022

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