A CONSTANT EXPLORATION,
A MOVEMENT WHERE EACH PROJECT
IS A NEW IMPULSE,
A CONTINUOUS PURSUIT OF MEANING,
BEAUTY, AND SHARING.
/About
OCTOPUS+
Two voices, two sensibilities, but one shared vision : to offer a living, free, and accessible form of art—firmly committed to crossing artistic disciplines and building bridges between forms, generations, and imaginations. OCTOPUS+ presents itself as a plural entity, a conduit for emotion, encounters, and dialogue between art, gastronomy, and culture.
Each event is conceived as a unique work of art.
/Curators
MARIE SECRET / SYLVIE ACHERE
Marie Secret – Editorial and Festival Director
Marie Secret has charted a cosmopolitan and inspired path at the crossroads of visual arts, cinema, and writing. After settling in Geneva in the 1980s, she quickly embraced a nomadic lifestyle, moving between Paris, London, and New York from 1986 onwards.
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”
When Pablo Picasso shared this quote, he was pointing to the power of a child’s gaze—capable of seeing the world with freshness, freedom, and imagination. That’s why we chose childhood portraits : because it is this renewed gaze, filled with unexpected associations, poetic images, and spontaneous analogies, that we call upon in octopus+ to continually reinvent our relationship with the arts—to try to escape convention while preserving wonder in the everyday, and to see art differently.
Sylvie Acheré – Art Historian, Curator, Researcher and
Visual Artist
Trained at the Beaux-Arts, Sylvie Acheré began her career as a press officer at Galerie Jacqueline Storme in Lille, where she had the opportunity to engage with major figures of the contemporary art scene such as Erró, Klasen, and Kijno.
/Actuality
HORSES 2025
DONNA DEMARI
/Horses
DONNA DEMARI
Paris to Chantilly
Du 20.06 - 30.07 2025
One year after the Paris Olympic Games, following the spectacular cavalcade of “Zeus”, the mechanical
horse that surged through the Seine during the opening ceremony, and the equestrian events held in the
stunning gardens of Versailles, it is time to rekindle those emotions around the equine theme and
reignite the flame—starting with the spirit of sport. The HORSES event offers a series of exhibitions and
Art Talks centered on the equine theme, built around a common thread : the photographic works of
Donna DeMari. The program is organized around three main axes : sport, art, and history, while also embracing gastronomy to showcase to the public the full spectrum of the equestrian world—sporting, artistic, and historical—and to foster exchanges in a convivial setting.
Donna DeMari
An American fashion photographer, Donna DeMari began her career in Milan and spent much of her life photographing models for the fashion press.
For over two decades, she has chosen to transpose her expertise into the equestrian world, blending her love of horses with photography and developing a unique approach to capturing her subjects.
/Horses
PROGRAM
A unique, multisensory artistic exploration of the equestrian theme, centered on the photographic creations of Donna DeMari.
June 20 to July 30
Crossing Paris to Chantilly
/Opening
A gastronomic tour of Parisian restaurants reinventing culinary tradition around Chantilly cream, both sweet and savory, under the patronage of the Brotherhood of the Whiskers of Chantilly Cream. The restaurants showcase the photographic works of Donna DeMari, accompanied by a quiz featuring equestrian tourist curiosities.
La Robe et le Palais - Le Mesturet - Derrière - Chez Julien - L’Atelier Maître Albert - La Ferrandaise - La Démocratie - Vendémiaire - Camondo - L’Évadé - Chocho -
La Datcha - Nosso - Le Troquet - Ladurée Tea Time - Le Jardin d’Hiver.
June 20-22
Longines Eiffel Jumping - Paris
Stage 1 : HORSES 2025 by Donna DeMari •
Exhibition of seven photographic stations
A summer woven with Art, the Spirit of Horses, and the Flavors of Life...
/Horses
ART TALK
20 participants
inscription / Fee :
contact@octopusart.net
June 23 Art studio - Christophe Charbonnel - Yvelines Essonne
Conversations and debates on the iconography of the horse, the creative processes, and the mediums used by artists.
July 8-9 Art Monte-Carlo - Monaco
July 17 Salle de rédaction La Démocratie - André Durand - Paris
Discovery and story of a poet of materials, André Durand, the last
papermaker from the Aude region to master the secrets of making
paper crafted from materials as diverse as horse compost cellulose.
July 28 Haras de La Cense - Cari Swanson - Yvelines Essonne
A meeting and story of an artistic collaboration between Donna DeMari
and Cari Swanson, who usually trains and breaks horses for
Hollywood films.
July 29 Haras de La Cense - Marc-Antoine Corticchiato - Yvelines Essonne
An olfactory experience with perfumer Marc-Antoine Corticchiato, who
explores the scent and memory universe of the horse in connection with the
Haras de La Cense, specialized in equine ethology. Conceived as a prologue
to examining parallels between human and equine emotions, aimed at
fostering communication and well-being.
July 30 Chantilly Stables – Valérie Delarue
Performance by Valérie Delarue, who reinterprets the Greek myth of
Pegasus around a luncheon. This event is paired with a visit to the
famous stables and a culinary workshop led by the Brotherhood of the
Whiskers of Chantilly Cream.
/Cultural tourism quiz
Crossing Paris to Chantilly
Paris retains within its urban fabric a memory of the horse, from the era when it was omnipresent—before the rise of automobiles and machinery signaled the end of reliance on animal power. Evidence of its past and present presence abounds, for those willing to be guided.
QUIZ
EQUINE
HISTORY
ART
GASTRONOMY
FROM PARIS TO CHANTILLY
/Events restaurants
CHANTILLY
PARIS
/Gallery
HORSES
Donna DeMari
serie of 20, signed with
certificate.
print 215 g on inkjet paper
Fine art 100% Coton
30X40 cm, series of 5.
Price on demand
40X55 cm, series of 5.
Price on demand
50X67 cm, series of 5.
Price on demand
76X100 cm, series of 3.
Price on demand
Longines Eiffel jumping
collection
200X150 cm series of 2.
Print on aluminium plate 3mm
Price on demand
/Realisations
Exhibitions
Andata Ritorno
Geneva
Bill Culbert
Walter Molino
Nathalie Rodach
Mauren Brodbeck
Festivals
Paris Art & 7è Art
Jerry Schatzberg
Vincent Gallo
Art & Gastronomie
Night Fall
Studies
Monaco
Formulart
Bordeaux
Surface d’exposition
Euro 2016
Cinelexique
Art salon
artgenève
artmontecarlo
Edition
collection Octopus
Geneva
Espace R
