The Living Archive: Staffan Ahrenberg, Daniel Birnbaum and Hans Ulrich Obrist in Conversation

What does it mean to keep an art institution alive for a hundred years – and why do books still matter in a digital age?In this episode of Compelling, host Katy Wellesley Wesley sits down at Cahiers d’Art in Saint‑Germain‑des‑Prés with publisher Staffan Ahrenberg, curator Daniel Birnbaum and Serpentine artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist. Together they trace their personal journeys into art, from teenage encounters with Giacometti and jazz to families steeped in museums and collecting.The conversation centres on the rebirth and centenary of Cahiers d’Art, exploring how the revue links Picasso, Duchamp and Goya to contemporary artists such as Gabriel Orozco, Arthur Jafa and Rosemarie Trockel. They discuss the idea of a “living archive”, connecting past to present through the eyes of artists, the role of catalogues raisonnés and the tension between physical books and new mixed‑reality experiences, echoing current experiments with VR and immersive exhibitions in leading institutions. Throughout, they argue that the future of art will be built from ‘fragments of the past’, constantly reactivated by new artists, new media and new readers.(00:00) - Welcome to Compelling (01:25) - Hans Ulrich Obrist’s Childhood Encounters with Art and Books (06:54) - Daniel Birnbaum’s Path from Philosophy to Criticism and Curation (15:29) - Staffan Ahrenberg’s Family Collection and Discovery of Cahiers d’Art (24:30) - Reviving a Legendary Publishing House (33:41) - Preparing the Cahiers d’Art Centennial (39:15) - Polaroid Cameras, Objects and New Artist Commissions (43:49) - Why Art Books Endure in an Instagram world (49:35) - VR, Mixed Reality and Re‑Framing Exhibitions (51:07) - Memory and Connecting Past and Present (56:26) - The Future for Art Staffan Ahrenberg: Swedish art collector, entrepreneur and film producer, Staffan Ahrenberg is the owner and publisher of Cahiers d’Art, the historic Parisian publishing house and gallery he relaunched in 2012. He has revitalised its revered revue, book and limited‑edition programmes, and co‑founded the nonprofit Cahiers d’Art Institute to publish catalogues raisonnés for leading 20th‑ and 21st‑century artists.Daniel Birnbaum: Daniel Birnbaum is a writer and curator based in Paris and Stockholm. From 2000 to 2010 he was rector of the Städelschule in Frankfurt and director of its Portikus gallery. Between 2010 and 2018 he was director of Moderna Museet in Stockholm. In 2009 he curated the the 53rd Venice Biennial. His most recent exhibition is Wassily Kandinsky and Hilma af Klint. Dreams of the Future at K20 in Düsseldorf (with Julia Voss) and Dream Machines at DESTE Foundation (with Massimiliano Gioni). Recent publications include Exhibition, Academy, Museum: Notes on the Frames of Art (Walther König, 2022) and the novel Dr B (Gallimard, 2022). In 2024 Birnbaum joined the Warburg Institute’s Visionary Circle. Hans Ulrich Obrist: Hans Ulrich Obrist is Artistic Director of Serpentine in London, and Senior Advisor at LUMA Arles. Prior to this, he was the Curator of the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. Since his first show ‘World Soup (The Kitchen Show)’ in 1991, he has curated more than 350 exhibitions. In 2011 Obrist received the CCS Bard Award for Curatorial Excellence, in 2015 he was awarded the International Folkwang Prize, and in 2025  he received the Prix François Morellet. Obrist’s recent publications include 140 Ideas for Planet Earth (2021), Edouard Glissant: Archipelago (2021), James Lovelock: Ever Gaia (2023), Remember to Dream (2023), Worldbuilding: Gaming and Art in The Digital Age (2024) and A Life In Progress (2025). Katy Wellesley Wesley: With over 18 years of leadership across galleries, foundations, and startups, Katy has built a career shaped by curiosity and a drive to explore new ideas. She spent a decade at leading commercial galleries—first at Gagosian, then at Pace, where she was Director of Exhibitions in London. She went on to lead the Villa Lena Foundation in Italy as Director, before joining the founding team of ROKBOX, a pioneering environmentally focused art logistics startup, as Sales Director. After relocating to Paris six years ago, Katy developed a strong interest in the intersection of art and luxury. To deepen this focus, she recently completed an Executive Master’s in Luxury Management and Design Innovation, a joint program between ESSEC Business School and Parsons School of Design. She now works as a consultant to brands, artists, foundations, and collectors. Among her clients is the legendary art publisher Cahiers d’Art, where she heads Commercial Partnerships.Compelling is proudly in partnership with Cahiers d’Art.Compelling is produced in collaboration with Cahiers d’Art, the iconic Paris-based art publisher founded in 1926, home of the Catalogue Raisonné of Picasso and most recently the Frank Gehry Drawings Catalogue Raisonné. At the heart of it's publishing program is the Cahiers d'Art Revue, one of the most significant and longest-standing annual art publications of the last century. In 2026, Cahiers d’Art will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a series of major publications, projects and exhibitions in collaboration with leading global institutions, including the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, the MoMA in New York City and the Musée Picasso in Paris.Visit Cahiers d’ArtArt direction by Eddie Harrop StudioWebsite and Production by Story Ninety-FourFilmed and recorded by Marque Page Studio