The Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève and La Cité Bleue join forces for an evening dedicated to dialogue between visual arts and Greek popular music, on the occasion of the launch of artist Paolo Colombo’s publication The Second Time (Nero Editions, November 2025).

Renovated in 2024, La Cité Bleue holds special significance in the history of the Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève. Indeed, it was in the Salle Simón I. Patiño (the theatre’s former name), now part of the site, that the Centre was born: between 1974 and 1978, it hosted exhibitions, concerts, performances, lectures, screenings, and festivals there. Under the direction of its founder, Adelina von Fürstenberg, numerous major artists presented their work, leaving a lasting imprint on Geneva’s cultural memory.

On December 6, the Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève and La Cité Bleue invite you to a conversation between Paolo Colombo, Andrea Bellini (Director of the Centre), Leonardo García-Alarcón (Director of La Cité Bleue), and Muriel Brandt (Head of Cultural Mediation). This roundtable will revisit the historical ties between the two institutions and discuss the artistic practice of Paolo Colombo.

The evening will continue with the concert Guitar and Bouzouki — Shaping the Mosaics of Rebetiko, performed by Theodora Athanassiou and Alexandros Kentris, two leading figures of the young Greek music scene. Through a subtle dialogue between guitar and bouzouki, they explore the musical heritage of rebetiko — between exile, melancholy, and freedom — revealing its expressive and contemporary power.

PROGRAM 

17h30 — Doors open, welcome & bar
18h30 — Panel conversation with Andrea Bellini, Leonardo García-Alarcón, Muriel Brandt and Paolo Colombo
19h30 — Concert by l’Ensemble Ancoretto with Theodora Athanassiou and Alexandros Kentris
20h30 — Bar & book signing by Paolo Colombo

Catalogue: Paolo Colombo, The Second Time, Nero Éditions, 2025 (FR / EN / IT), 25 CHF, special price for the book launch : 15 CHF
This monography was published with the generous support of Fondation Jan Michalski

INFOS & ACCESS

Saturday, December 6, 2025
La Cité Bleue, Genève
Av. de Miremont 46, 1206 Genève

>>> Tickets (20 CHF)