COLL. PERMANENTES & EXPO. TEMPORAIRES

Join us at the Guimet – Musée National des Arts Asiatiques and immerse yourself in a breathtaking journey through the rich tapestry of Asian culture! Founded in 1889, this renowned museum houses the most comprehensive collection of Asian art in the world, boasting over 60,000 artworks that span 7,000 years of history.

Explore masterpieces that traverse from Afghanistan to Japan, featuring highlights from India, China, Korea, and Southeast Asia. The collection includes captivating paintings, sculptures, porcelain, prints, textiles, photographs, and exquisite decorative objects that showcase the incredible diversity of cultures, religions, and philosophies across Asia. 🎨

The museum is located in three sites in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The historic building on Place d'Iéna features:

• 5,500 m² of permanent exhibition halls,
• A stunning historical library,
• An auditorium with 276 seats that hosts a variety of concerts, films, performances, conferences, and literary meetings,
• A restaurant offering delightful cuisine, and a panoramic terrace adorned with greenery across three levels. 🌿🍽️

Each year, the museum unveils four to five temporary exhibitions alongside regular rotations of its permanent collection and contemporary artist interventions.

Temporary Exhibition Highlight:
Polaraki - A Thousand Polaroids by Araki Nobuyoshi
This exhibition reveals the endless possibilities explored by the acclaimed Japanese photographer using Polaroid photography—an essential experimentation tool in his work. Since the 1960s, Araki has been a prominent figure in the realm of Japanese and international photography.

The Polaroids featured, created between 1997 and 2024, were gradually acquired from major galleries in France and Japan by collector Stéphane André, who generously donated them to the Guimet Museum in May 2025.

Displayed in the rotunda on the fourth floor, 'Polaraki' showcases an installation designed by the collector for his home: 43 columns, each made up of 9 frames stacked from the floor to the ceiling, featuring one, two, three, or four Polaroids in every frame—arranged in combination by both Araki and the collector. 📸

This exhibition pays tribute to Araki's fervent use of the Polaroid as an almost daily gesture since the late 1990s, reflecting a scopophilic and erotic impulse that fuels his broader oeuvre.
Additionally, it touches on themes of a collector's private ownership of an artist's work, much like the cabinets of curiosities—characterized by a saturation of personal space, a taste for the strange and licentious, and eclectic character.

The exceptional donation by Stéphane André significantly contributes to the museum's mission to enrich contemporary art in Asia and photography, furthering its efforts initiated in 2016 with the retrospective exhibition ‘Araki’.

⚠️ Important Note: Some photographs in this exhibition contain sexually explicit content and may not be suitable for all audiences. Entrance to the rotunda is restricted to those over 18 years old.

📍 Visit us every day from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM (closed on Tuesdays and on May 1st, December 25th, and January 1st).