On a Saturday night, back at the start of May, The Palais de Tokyo–one of Paris’s most prestigious contemporary art collections–opened its doors for the first time to a very marginalized group of culture lovers. For one night only, visitors were allowed to enter the museum in the nude and wander around the current exhibition completely naked. It might seem like a niche interest, despite only 161 tickets being available, over 300,000 keen naturists applied. According to the Telegraph, Vincent, a teacher who attended the event said: “I very much liked the confrontation between our vulnerable bodies and the Japanese armor, representing war and barbarity.”

Organized by the Paris Naturists Association, the self-described sports club practicing strict nudity, the group regularly hosts events in parks, jazz clubs and swimming pools As most of the pools in the French capital require all swimmers employ bathing caps, meaning hordes of nudists regularly swim with their heads covered—and little else.

Then in July this year, another Parisian art center, the Point Ephémère put on a naked club night, in light of a series of workshops they held about nudism.

Last year, the city’s largest public park—the Bois de Vincennes—also announced it was opening a permanent designated space for those wanted to enjoy nature, au natural.

With 2018 being one of the hottest years for many countries across the world, is this a trend that will take foot in more traditionally conservative cultures? Last week, Towner Gallery is the UK organized their first nudist visitor tour after the local nudist group approached multiple galleries asking for a specialist guide around their collection. According to ArtNet, Tate Britain has” ignored several requests to organize a naturist visit” to its current exhibition on still life painting, featuring Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud whos both life’s work hinged on capturing the raw human form.

Despite there being no globally agreed definition of a heat wave, this summer saw typical cold countries like Scandinavia and Canada break new records for increasing temperatures. For the first time ever Sweeden witnessed forest fires hitting the Arctic Circle, with international agencies stepping in to stop the flames from spreading. Because of the hot weather, Sweden announced they would temporarily bend the rules and allow local cows to wonder some of the country’s most loved nudist beaches. In the midst of a prolonged heat wave, farmers were concerned for the animal’s welfare and despite outcries from local bathers, allowing the animals access to cooler waters trumped

Scientists have said that global temperatures, both at sea and inland, are likely to be abnormally high for the next four years at least—is the stripped back lifestyle of nudism something cultural institutions need to start embracing?