The Museum of dating
Le musée des rencontres
Valentina Peri (FR) · Olivier Cheval (FR) · Jérôme Saint-Clair (FR) · Lordess Foudre (USA) · Jhenyfy Muller (BR)
PRATICAL INFO
Inauguration :
Nov. 8, 2024: 5 pm to 10 pm
Nov. 9, 2024: 1pm to 10pm
Open Tue. to Sat. 1pm to 6pm
Free admission
The “Museum of Dating” exhibition contextualises the contemporary online dating phenomenon amid an array of older technologies, practices, narratives as well as cultural and media artefacts. While online dating has only recently gained cultural and social acceptance, the idea of using technology to connect single people is far from new. Computer dating systems appeared in the Anglo-American world in the 1960s, drawing on questionnaires and personalised algorithms. In France, the introduction of the Minitel Rose in the 1980s revolutionised how strangers networked through instant messaging to find their soulmate or a virtual fling.
Curator Valentina Peri presents a timeline retracing the history of dating, enriched by the cultural, social and political events and trends that have shaped the dating phenomenon and the idea of celibacy to this day. The exhibition highlights a selection of cultural artefacts and mass culture products, such as board games, films, television programmes, books and various objects, all put into perspective through this chronological reconstruction. Alongside this historical and archival reconstruction, works by contemporary artists Olivier Cheval, Jérôme Saint Clair, Sophie Calle and Lordess Foudre explore each of the key themes in the history of dating. This includes the Minitel Rose, the classified ads published in Le Chasseur Français, and the role played by technology in the (de)construction of identities.
Exhibition in collaboration with artists Jérôme Saint-Clair, Lordless Foudre, Olivier Cheval and Joan Ball.
Workshop “Un selfie hors norme”
Discover how to create an “out of the ordinary” selfie with AI, while taking a step back on our uses of social networks and how the images they convey impact us.
All ages 14 and up – Saturday, November 16 and
Saturdays, November 16 and January 11
3pm to 4pm
Michel-Vovelle Library and Archives
Registration required lesmejanes-patrimoine@mairie-aixenprovence.fr
or 04 88 71 74 20
Saturday, December 7
2pm to 4pm
Li Campaneto Library
Registration on 04 88 71 83 59
For further information, visit www.citedulivre-aix.com
Valentina Peri’s conference
Nov 22 6:30pm
(cancelled)
Artists
Valentina Peri
Valentina Peri is an independent curator, artist and author.
Her research explores the impact of technology on contemporary culture, with a focus on intimacy and love in the digital age.
Her touring exhibition Data Dating was presented in Paris, Tel Aviv, London, Brussels, Geneva and Brescia between 2018 and 2022. In the context of this exhibition, she co-edited the book Data Dating. Love, Technology, Desire (Intellect, 2021).
In 2022, she began her research into the phenomenon of online romance scams in West Africa, publishing the books The New Romance Scammer’s Instructor (2022) and Le Brouteur Galant (Editions UV 2024), collections of original love messages from Ghanaian and Ivorian romance scammers.
In 2022, she received a Fluxus Art Projects curatorial grant for her research into the history of dating The Museum of Dating, presented in an exhibition at Watermans London in 2023.
Credits & mentions
In partnership with Les Méjanes – Bibliothèque et archives Michel-Vovelle.
Film by Valentina Peri, in collaboration with director Jhenyfy Muller. In partnership with Watermans, with the support of Fluxus Art Projects.
Cover image: Olivier Cheval, Rose Minitel, film, 2019, courtesy of the artist
Rose Minitel, a film by Olivier Cheval, produced by Le Fresnoy – National Studio, 2019.