La Peintinoire: last chance to visit the former skating rink transformed into an urban art museum

Every year, there are more and more spots dedicated tourban art in Paris and elsewhere in the Île-de-France region, to the delight of street art lovers. While Spot 13 is one of the must-see locations, other projects are regularly created, especially on an ephemeral basis. These include the Planète Périphérique festival, the Permis de Démolir event and, more recently, L'équipée.

Over the past few months, street art enthusiasts have been gathering in the Val-d'Oise to (re)discover the Peintinoire. Closed in 2016, this former skating rink in Cergy-Pontoise has been transformed into an ephemeral urban art museum in 2023, thanks to the incredible work of the Art Osons association. Well-known in the 95 département of Paris, the association was approached by the Communauté d'Agglomération de Cergy-Pontoise, which wanted to give the skating rink " temporary status as a place for ephemeral artistic creation " before the site gave way to a real estate project.

Art Osons wasted no time in taking up the challenge. In less than three months, the association completed the first phase of the Peintinoire. It was presented to the public in July 2023 during the 4th edition of the Caps Attack festival, celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Art Osons association.

A new, second phase will be launched in September 2023 during the Cergy Soit! festival. After taking over the ancillary premises of the former Cergy-Pontoise skating rink, such as the changing rooms, the Art Osons association went one step further by tackling the famous sliding track. Artists were invited to sublimate the track, using Mondrian's squares as an artistic theme, echoing the building's historic windows. Art Osons called on 42 local and international artists, as well as 61 local children and 7 inmates from the Val-d'Oise prison, to create this incredibly colorful collective work.

After welcoming numerous visitors one Saturday a month, Art Osons has decided to do it again for the very last time and reopen the doors of the Peintinoire free of charge this Saturday, September 7, 2024, just to put a smile on the faces of skating rink nostalgics, street art lovers and the curious alike.

For our part, we went to discover the site on February 24, 2024. And what a surprise it was to discover this incredible ephemeral museum of urban art, with its 2,000 m² sublimated by talented street artists.

• To be read
• Colors Festival 2024, the huge street art exhibition in an abandoned house, goes into overtime
• Street-art exhibitions in Paris and the Ile-de-France region: what to see and do
• Street art: the 2nd most beautiful fresco in France is in Val-d'Oise

First and foremost, there's the large track on which young and old come to rollerblade, while street art enthusiasts can admire the urban artworks scattered all around. Created on part of the track, but also and above all all around it, they are signed 2li, Miam, Nash, Nexer, Oskar, Primal, Namaste, Monkiz or Horor, Homek, Lask, Ibaat Satya... Techniques and styles vary, with several highly successful realistic portraits.

The tour continues in the adjoining premises, on the first floor and basement levels, with an exhibition of photos of urban works created in the Val-d'Oise, a number of installations, and many other frescoes, including one by Sintez and Fred Custaard, and this impressive hockey-playing dinosaur to be admired in the old changing rooms!

There's a lot to see. So allow yourself some time to admire them at your own pace, and discover those hidden in the nooks and crannies of the former ice rink. There's also a refreshment area and a shop, and members of the Art Osons association are on hand to answer visitors' questions.

If you're interested in discovering the Peintinoire, then don't miss the last chance to visit it and this very last opening scheduled for this Saturday, September 7, 2024 from 1pm to 7pm. More good news: admission to the Peintinoire is free!