True to its commitment to showcase emerging artists beyond its institutional walls, the Palais de Tokyo, in partnership with Institut Français and Expo Chicago, presents a large-scale exhibition as an official satellite program, running concurrently to align with the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial. Curated by Palais de Tokyo curator Katell Jaffrès, the exhibition takes place at the Roundhouse, a building designed by Burnham and Root and built in 1881 on the DuSable Museum of African American History campus. The group exhibition, featuring artists both from France and Chicago, involves a strong architectural component exploring the dialogue between artistic process and architecture. Chicago-based architect, Andrew Schachman, will also collaborate on the site design—working directly with the artists, to expand the viewer experience and echo the singular space of the Roundhouse.

Katell Jaffrès became curator at Palais de Tokyo in 2007, following her work at various institutions across Europe, including Galérie Marian Goodman and the Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain, both in Paris. Jaffrès’s recent exhibitions at Palais de Tokyo include Emmanuel Saulnier’s Black Dancing (2017), David Ryan and Jérôme Joy’s Nothing at All (2016), and Jean-Michel Alberola’s L'Aventure des Détails (2016), as well as Servitudes by Jesper Just (2015), Patrick Neu’s solo show (2015), and the group-show Inside, co-curated with Jean de Loisy and Daria de Beauvais (2014). She regularly sits on various juries. Jaffrès holds a master's degree in curatorial studies from the University of Rennes 2.

Andrew Schachman designs environments, infrastructures, and installations. He is the executive director of two organizations that are experimental spaces for delivering arts and culture within existing metropolitan networks: Floating Museum and Fieldwork Collaborative Projects. Trained as an architect, he designed and managed projects for the offices of Zaha Hadid, Perkins and Will, Carol Ross Barney, and Doug Garofalo. His projects have received numerous awards including the Distinguished Building Award from the American Institute of Architects and the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Award for Architectural Excellence in Community Design. Andrew is a studio associate professor, curator of design studios, and the director of general education for the College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Palais de Tokyo has at its disposal a building located at 13 Avenue du Président Wilson, Paris, which is used for exhibition purposes. The site is owned by the French State, which has appointed Palais de Tokyo SASU to manage and use it under a public service delegation agreement. Palais de Tokyo's mission is to help support and disseminate contemporary creation, particularly in the field of visual arts.