Art Deco Reborn: Paris Prepares to Celebrate Heritage and Craft at the 2025 Salon du Patrimoine

Paris has a way of marking anniversaries with flair, and next autumn will be no exception. From  23  to  26  October  2025, the vaulted galleries beneath the Louvre will transform into a buzzing forum for conservators, gilders, cabinet‑makers, stonecutters, stained‑glass artists, and the museum curators who depend on them. The occasion is the thirtieth edition of the Salon International du Patrimoine Culturel, an event that has grown over three decades into the reference point for anyone who cares about how France restores, protects, and re‑imagines its cultural treasures. The numbers alone suggest why the salon matters: more than 300 exhibitors, 20 000 expected visitors, deals and commissions signed on the spot, and a calendar of talks that routinely sparks new collaborations between public institutions and the private ateliers that keep historic techniques alive.

Ateliers d’Art de France, the professional guild behind the show, chose an irresistible theme for this anniversary year—“Patrimoine & Art Déco.” The timing is perfect. In 1925, the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes opened in Paris and gave the world an aesthetic that still feels modern today: stylised sunbursts, ziggurat silhouettes, exotic veneers, chrome, lacquer, and a belief that luxury could be both handcrafted and forward‑looking. One hundred years later, the 2025 salon will celebrate that legacy by inviting exhibitors to present Art Déco restorations, rare objets, period materials, and contemporary pieces inspired by the movement’s sleek geometry. Expect lacquer workshops recreating the deep blacks of Eileen Gray, mosaicists explaining how to source authentic smalti, and marble specialists discussing how to patch a chipped mantel without betraying its 1920s provenance.

If the setting feels grand, the mood is anything but intimidating. Past editions have united master craftsmen from tiny one‑person studios with venerable manufactures that supply royal palaces. Visitors can watch a leather gilder apply gold leaf to a 19th‑century book spine, then step two stands over to learn how laser scanners help map medieval vaults. Museum buyers arrive with shopping lists; château owners hunt for a plaster specialist who can replicate a missing rosette; architecture students come for the sheer joy of seeing technique up close. After a stroll through the aisles, one quickly understands why UNESCO sees these métiers d’art as living heritage no less vital than the monuments themselves.

Behind the scenes, Ateliers d’Art de France plays an essential advocacy role. Founded 150 years ago and now representing more than 6 000 professionals across 281 recognised trades, the organisation lobbies for fair regulations, trains new talent, and showcases work through a network of Parisian boutiques and the vast Empreintes concept store in the Marais. It also co‑owns the international trade fair MAISON&OBJET, proving that savoir‑faire can be both culturally urgent and economically robust.

The last major gathering organised by Ateliers d’Art de France—Révélations at the Grand Palais—drew 45 000 visitors in just five days. That momentum is sure to spill over to the Carrousel du Louvre next October, when the salon’s thirtieth birthday coincides with renewed public appetite for craftsmanship rooted in sustainability and authenticity. Many French monuments are now undergoing energy‑efficient retrofits; the artisans who know how to insulate a 17th‑century window without altering its profile will find eager clients. Equally in demand are specialists who can balance heritage with accessibility, ensuring that listed buildings comply with modern safety codes while retaining their soul.

Photo credits: Atelier Camuset, Lily Panel – material coatings © Atelier Camuset; Atelier de Ricou, Restoration site at the Casino d’Évian © Atelier de Ricou; Ateliers Duchemin, Restoration of Louis Barillet’s stained-glass windows at Lycée Hélène Boucher, Paris © Ateliers Duchemin; Rémy Motte © Alex Gallosi; Atelier Mériguet Carrère © Alex Gallosi.

Strolling through the salon can feel like stepping into a living encyclopedia. A panel of botanical plaster casts by Atelier Camuset reveals how natural pigments create depth no synthetic paint can match. Across the aisle, Ateliers Duchemin display panels from their restoration of Louis Barillet’s stained‑glass windows at the Lycée Hélène Boucher, the jewel‑like colour still singing after nearly a century of Parisian grime. Nearby, the Atelier de Ricou presents gilded friezes rescued from the Casino d’Évian, while the team from Mériguet‑Carrère discusses how reversible varnishes allow future conservators to undo today’s repairs if new science emerges.

It is easy to be swept up in the romance of it all, yet the salon is fundamentally about work: orders placed, apprenticeships offered, techniques passed on. In the quiet moments just after opening each morning, you can hear the low hum of negotiations in half a dozen languages. By evening, that hum becomes a celebratory buzz in the pop‑up café, where steeplejacks compare notes with harp restorers and glassblowers toast another day of saving the past for the future.

Paris in late October can be grey, but inside the Carrousel du Louvre the colours will be anything but muted. Verdigris bronze, malachite glass, burnished walnut, jewel‑tone silks—every hue of Art Déco ingenuity will be on display, alongside the centuries‑old skills that make their revival possible. Whether you are a museum conservator, a homeowner with a fragile terrazzo floor, or simply a lover of craftsmanship, the Salon International du Patrimoine Culturel 2025 promises four days of discovery, dialogue, and inspiration beneath the most famous museum on earth.