Kamel Mennour. Courtesy Mennour.

Since entering the gallery business 25 years ago, Kamel Mennour has focused his efforts on his hometown and become one of the key players in reasserting Paris’s relevance in the contemporary art world at a time when many French dealers were losing ground to London and New York. He recently solidified his geographical commitment with a major donation of 180 contemporary artworks to the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris. On the occasion of the announcement of the gift, Observer caught up with the French-Algerian dealer to trace the evolution of his gallery and reflect on how his decision to maintain a Parisian focus—rather than pursue global expansion—has proven to be the most enduring formula for securing his international reputation without sacrificing his identity or passion.

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In 1999, Kamel Mennour, with a degree in economics in hand, opened his first gallery in Saint-Germain: a modest 50 square meter space at 60 Rue Mazarine dedicated primarily to contemporary photography. Self-taught in both art and the art business, Mennour had little more than deep passion and a vision at a time when Paris had few new voices in contemporary galleries and even fewer competitors. “Paris was an old lady sleeping,” he jokes, recalling a very different city—one of grand museums focused on the past and a handful of legendary dealers from an earlier generation, Yvon Lambert and Daniel Templon among them. Even Emmanuel Perrotin, Thaddaeus Ropac and Almine Rech had only recently opened—all across the river. “I had no competition. There was nothing in front of me,” he says. “I had this vision that I wanted to make it in Paris. Paris was my city.”

Mennour trained himself by visiting every gallery and art fair he could. Not long after opening his space, he found himself presenting at FIAC, which was then considered France’s leading international fair even though it was still lacking true selectivity and global appeal. “At the time, there was a huge gap between Frieze London and FIAC in Paris—and since they were held at the same time, we were always trying to convince our colleagues, especially the Americans, to stay in Europe a bit longer and do both,” he recalls with a smile, noting how a decade later the situation had completely flipped, and Paris had begun to outshine its rival.

Keen to close that gap, Mennour became deeply involved in the fair’s growth. During its final decade at the Grand Palais, he played a key role in elevating FIAC’s quality and international standing as a member of its selection committee. Alongside fellow top-tier French dealers like Emmanuel Perrotin, Chantal Crousel, Almine Rech and Nathalie Obadia, he helped bring in a more competitive and international roster in the early 2010s, when FIAC was working hard to reclaim relevance from Art Basel. That momentum, however, came to an abrupt halt in 2022, when the global Swiss brand launched its Paris edition and FIAC was sidelined entirely.

Today, Paris has arguably reclaimed its status as Europe’s leading capital for art and culture—surpassing even London. Mennour confirms that Brexit played a role, but credits the broader renaissance the city experienced just before and after the pandemic. The opening of major private collections and foundations sparked a renewed sense of cultural pride, with institutions vying to revitalize the French scene. “Francois Pinault had a huge impact—he was buying so much from all the galleries,” Mennour says. “We used to tell our international colleagues that when they opened in Paris, a visit from Pinault was almost guaranteed if their program was strong.”

Pinault’s support, particularly throughout the pandemic, was significant—not just a matter of ego, but a deliberate effort to help rebuild the ecosystem. Then came Bernard Arnault with the Fondation Louis Vuitton, introducing a real sense of competition. The Fondation Cartier was already active, and the rise of these private institutions also pushed the public ones—like the Centre Pompidou and Palais de Tokyo—to step up their engagement with contemporary art.

This wasn’t rivalry in a negative sense, Mennour stresses, but a kind of healthy emulation that invigorated the entire scene. “We started as a French market but by the........

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