Polka Gallery
Meet Adélie, director of Polka Galerie
Located in the heart of the Marais in Paris, Galerie Polka showcases artists from around the world. At the crossroads of culture and art, you can also discover their editorial project with Polka Magazine. Adélie, a photography lover, tells us the story of the gallery and how TIPTOE creations blend with this art form.
What is Polka?
Illustrated by the slogan “Every Photo Has Its Story,” Polka is an innovative concept dedicated to photography. For the first time, we are bringing together a cultural and artistic project with a gallery, Polka Galerie, a concept store, Polka Factory, and an editorial project with Polka Magazine.
Polka aims to reflect the reality of the world and its social and cultural changes through photography. Our community is loyal and growing, and we are delighted to welcome more than 25,000 visitors each year to our Paris address in the Marais.
When we launched Polka 12 years ago, we dreamed of becoming an essential meeting place for all photography lovers, and that is becoming more and more true. In fact, it was to meet growing demand that we opened our factory last September, a hybrid living space dedicated to photography. Polka supports photography in all its forms.
Tell us about Galerie Polka—what happens there throughout the year?
Today, the gallery represents 32 internationally renowned photographers, with whom it develops exclusive productions. We work with prestigious names such as Sebastião Salgado, William Klein and Daido Moriyama, as well as younger photographers such as Édouard Elias, Yves Marchand & Romain Meffre, Alexander Gronsky and Joakim Eskildsen. Each generation brings a great deal to the other. They all bring a distinctive photographic voice, marked by a desire to use the medium to explore a documentary context.
Every 3 months, we present 2 new exhibitions. Each exhibition is featured in Polka Magazine through a major portfolio. This allows us to offer our readers, visitors, and collectors two highly complementary interpretations of the same work.
And then we have a new baby, Polka Factory, which is the first space you enter when you visit us. Each month, a 30-day capsule exhibition is presented, and we search for and select images for you from photographic collections, rare books, often signed. Above all, the Factory provides opportunities to connect with artists through events held almost weekly.
Why did you choose TIPTOE objects, and how did you integrate them into this space?
I really like the TIPTOE collection: the different woods, the table legs in different colors, and its clean lines. It perfectly matches the Polka aesthetic. The furniture is simple, yet brings a beautiful sense of design. We didn’t need to integrate it; it simply complemented our space. And I must also admit that it is very practical too—we really appreciate the modular table legs. We often travel to international fairs, and it makes life much easier for us.
A TIPTOE creation you would like to make?
At the gallery and at the Factory, we present our pieces on small shelves, which allows us to create quick displays and presentations. We could definitely use TIPTOE shelves for these presentations 🙂
Thank you, Adélie, for this interview. To all photography lovers, we invite you to follow the adventures of Galerie Polka and Polka Magazine!