Reims: Folies Modernes
1925! Reims is reborn and embraces the French movement that would inspire the entire world: Art Deco! The city and its partners are marking this anniversary with a series of major events, in a program as eclectic as Reims’s own architecture. From 20 September to 3 January 2026, the Reims public libraries present an exhibition devoted to the aesthetics of the Art Deco movement.
Shaping Tomorrow: Patterns and Forms, 1925–2025
The International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts, inaugurated in Paris on April 28, 1925, marked the high point of the Art Deco movement—born in the early years of the 20th century and lasting a little beyond the Second World War.
This exhibition highlights the aesthetics of the movement through heritage documents and contemporary creations. Posters, bookbindings, menus, magazines, drawings, objects, wallpapers and installations are arranged to showcase the shapes and influences of Art Deco.
Carnegie Library: At the Heart of Art Deco
This first section invites you to discover the 1925 Paris exhibition and the activities of the Reims Union of Decorative Arts. The library’s architecture and ornamental program—an authentic Art Deco manifesto—lie at the heart of the exhibition, presented through original drawings and plans as well as works by students from the École Supérieure d’Art et de Design and MJM Graphic Design, who drew inspiration from it. The art of the book and fine bookbinding complete this rich evocation.
Jean Falala Media Library: Eclecticism and Heritage
This second section takes you on a journey through the eclectic spirit of a style that left its mark across every visual field. With its geometric, floral, exotic and industrial inspirations, this movement—defining itself as modern—reinvented the feminine silhouette, graphic design and interior decoration, especially wallpaper. Here too, students from the École Supérieure d’Art et de Design and MJM Graphic Design share their own interpretations of Art Deco patterns and forms.
You will be able to admire furniture and objects from the Reims Museum of Fine Arts, documents from the Municipal and Community Archives, furnishings from the Chemin Vert community house, sketches and drawings from the Ateliers Simon-Marq, wallpaper catalogues from the Marne Departmental Archives and from the Forney Library (City of Paris), as well as wallpapers from the “Art Deco Centennial Edition” collection (Maison Papier Français edition), which showcases the creations of René Crevel and the Grantil and Leroy manufactures.
Maison Papier Français, partner of the exhibition with its “Art Deco Centennial Edition” collection
Maison Papier Français is delighted to be a partner of this remarkable exhibition and invites you to come and discover it. The wallpapers can be viewed at the Jean Falala Media Library.
Visits
Bibliothèque Carnegie, 2 place Carnegie, Reims
Saturday 10am-1pm / 2pm- 6pm
Médiathèque Jean Falala , 2 rue des Fuseliers, Reims
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 1pm-7pm
Wednesday 10am-7pm
Saturday 10am-6pm
