Our partners

As part of its purpose, the Fondation de France is intended to explore social issues which require better inclusion in all fields, such as education, health, solidarity, the environment and ecology and culture. In this latter area, the Fondation, conscious of its position in the vanguard of research and experimentation, has chosen, quite logically, creation and art. Adopting a dual approach to this commitment, it decided to encourage and support art commissions from civil society, while simultaneously taking action to research the role of art in societies throughout history and contemporary cultural issues. So it was that in 1991, taking full responsibility for the risks inherent in the innovation, it chose to implement the Protocol of New Patrons, designed by artist François Hers.

Choosing this mode of action has proved decisive, giving the Fondation de France a non-prescriptive dimension, not asserting the authority generally enjoyed by people and organisations which hold the purse-strings, but rather that of a genuine mediator. It did not in fact just content itself with consulting the recipients of its funding or sending invitations to participate in the initiatives it had chosen. It turned the situation on its head and offered people who wished to have the means to commission art themselves, by directly commissioning artists, using methods which enabled them to assume the responsibility. By deciding to act in this way in the cultural field, the Fondation de France remains faithful to the way it re-distributes its donors’ funding in all fields.

David Brognon & Stéphanie Rollin, Train Your Bird To Talk, 2018, Pierre Budin School (Paris, 18). Implementation Societies for the New Patrons. Photo © David Brognon and Stéphanie Rollin.

This grassroots implementation could not have been achieved without the commitment of a network of independent cultural mediators-producers. It is thanks to the knowledge and skills which they bring that any person, as an individual or part of a collective approach, may take the initiative from any location. This operating procedure not only allows the expression and confirmation of art’s raisons d’être, but also of working together as part of shared equal responsibility among all stakeholders involved, particularly with artists who can directly take into account the expressed creative requirements, whether they are visual artists, architects, musicians, writers, directors etc.

“The New Patrons revealed the ability of civil society to fully assume its responsibilities in the development of a culture which bears the risks of creation”

To date, more than five hundred commissions completed or in progress demonstrate the relevance of this mode of action, not only in France but also in Europe and recently in Africa. These New Patrons revealed the ability of civil society to fully assume its responsibilities in the development of a culture which bears the risks of creation. This action also shows that a democratic exercise can be provided which goes further than the consultation stage or offering participation which canvasses opinions but does not offer the capacity to decide and be involved.

Yan Pei-Ming, Portraits, Dijon, 1992. Photo médiation le Consortium, Dijon. Masahiro Handa, ADAGP Paris.

The fact remains that one cannot be involved in “doing” without developing a capacity of critical analysis about the current cultural situation and the deeds of which it is made; finding the words to make the work readable and intelligible, transmit it and constitute a collective intelligence. We must find new criteria for assessing and judging an action which gives our creative capacity a sense of community which is as powerful today as that which has driven it for six centuries. We must now write the next chapter of this history which we called modern and of which we are the heirs.

The Fondation de France is an independent private-sector body. It was established by the State in 1969, to support and develop initiatives by those who wish, by donation or personal commitment, to contribute to greater inclusion as regards social questions where it is poorly served in fields such as culture, education, research, solidarity, health and the environment.

The Fondation is the most important philanthropic network in France. It is represented in every region and supports almost ten thousand projects every year. It receives no subsidies and acts thanks to the generosity of donors and testators. It operates in two ways, by directly implementing programmes of action and by supporting the work of some 857 foundations which it hosts to date.

Emerige: a proactive patron of the arts

In the firm belief that art has the power to change our daily reality, Emerige is a corporate sponsor committed to contemporary creativity by bringing culture closer to everyone, but especially the youngest in society. The Emerige Endowment Fund encourages young French artists via its Emerige Revelations Grant Scheme and its support for arts and culture educational programmes.

As a company devoted to building more beautiful cities for everyone, Emerige also contributes to bringing more art into urban communities by acquiring or commissioning contemporary art pieces under the terms of the 1 Building, 1 Artwork charter.

Our initiatives for young audiences

Bringing culture closer to young audiences is a major commitment rooted in our firm belief that culture is a lever for equal access and reducing inequalities in our society. That is why we design and support arts and cultural education programmes in partnership with stakeholders and non-profit organisations.

Une Journée de Vacances à Versailles

Launched by Emerige in 2016, the Une Journée de Vacances à Versailles (A one-day holiday at Versailles) campaign organised in partnership with the Palace of Versailles management team has engaged the curiosity of more than 20,000 children by giving them the opportunity to experience the exceptional heritage of the Palace and its gardens.

Every year, this large-scale event benefits around 5,000 children aged between 6 to 13 from the Greater Paris area who would otherwise have no holiday during the summer school break. It gives them the opportunity to explore the Palace of Versailles and its gardens on Mondays when the Palace is otherwise closed to the public with edutainment tours led by specialist mediators.

Secondary school students at the Collège de France

The Collège de France Foundation and Emerige have designed a series of conferences and meetings between teachers, student researchers and young students from priority secondary schools.

Every year, conferences chaired by lecturers from the prestigious Collège de France research centre are hosted in secondary schools in priority districts of the Paris region. In return, secondary school students are invited to visit the Collège de France to meet young researchers as part of introducing them to a profession and a world they have never before encountered.

La Source: combating social exclusion through art

Emerige has supported the La Source non-profit organisation founded by painter and sculptor Gérard Garouste since 2017. The Group is its first corporate patron.

La Source targets young people who live in challenging circumstances and are otherwise excluded from society by offering them art-focused opportunities mentored by established artists and educators. Spanning the visual arts, theatre, writing and music, these opportunities “help them to develop their imaginations, release their emotions, become self-sufficient and prove that they are capable of creating, making and completing a project”.

L’Automne au Lycée

Emerige supports this arts and culture education programme run by the Festival d’Automne in Paris, which offers around 1,000 students from more than 15 secondary schools in Paris and its surrounding region the opportunity to discover and experiment with contemporary creativity.

The programme works to give each student a place where he or she feels comfortable to experience and learn artistic practice around their own personal sensitivities.

View of the exhibition “Outside Our”, Paul Mignard, Lauréat Révélations Emerige 2018, Villa Emerige (2018). Caption © Rebecca Fanuele

Our support for contemporary creativity

As a passionate advocate for contemporary creativity, Emerige provides year-on-year support for programmes such as the Emerige Revelations Grant and One Building, One Artwork, and for cultural institutions, including the Palais de Tokyo and Museum of Modern Art in Paris and the Venice Biennale, in their efforts to promote French art.

The Emerige Revelations Grant

Created in 2014 by Emerige Group Chairman Laurent Dumas and exhibition curator Gaël Charbau, the Emerige Revelations Grant is aimed at visual artists in every area of practice (photography, painting, installation, video, etc.). To be eligible, artists must be under 35 years of age, French or living in France and not represented by a professional gallery.

The Emerige Revelations Grant has already facilitated the emergence of work by several artists, beginning with the recipients of the Grant in the last six years: Vivien Roubaud (Galerie In Situ – fabienne leclerc), Lucie Picandet (Galerie Georges-Philippe & Nathalie Vallois), Edgar Sarin (Galerie Michel Rein), Linda Sanchez (Galerie Papillon), Paul Mignard (Galerie Jérôme Poggi) and Paul Heintz (gb agency), all of whom have since received a lot of coverage in the art media. Other finalists have also benefited from the springboard of the Grant by having their work noticed and seen more widely. They include Bianca Bondi (Lyon Biennial 2019), Léonard Martin (Nuit Blanche 2019, Lyon Biennial 2019), Randa Maroufi (Embellir Paris), Mali Arun (Palais de Tokyo, 2019), Raphaëlle Peria (Drawing Lab, 2018), Ugo Schiavi (Nuit Blanche 2018) and Fabien Léaustic (Nemo Biennial, 2019, Nuit Blanche 2018) among many others.

Chosen by a panel of leading figures from the art world, the winner receives professional support, studio space for one year and an overall grant of €15,000 to be used for staging his or her first solo exhibition in the partner gallery. One of the remaining eleven nominees is selected by a partner institution for a residency in another country (The Pill, Istanbul, 2017-2018 and Hestia Art Residency and Exhibition Bureau, Belgrade, 2018-2019).

1 building, 1 artwork

As a company devoted to building more beautiful cities for everyone, Emerige also contributes to bringing more art into urban communities by acquiring or commissioning contemporary art pieces under the terms of the 1 Building, 1 Artwork charter it co-founded in 2015 under the aegis of the French Ministry of Culture. Over the past four years, it has supported the creation of more than sixty artworks for the residential and commercial buildings it has built or regenerated.

To ensure the regional relevance of these artworks, mediation initiatives are implemented as part of campaigns conducted in conjunction with local partners, such as art schools, art centres and colleges.

Committed to the history and future of art

The Antoine de Galbert Foundation supports, promotes and defends creation in Modern and Contemporary Art. Our mission is to support teaching Art History and the training of future artists. We acquire works for the purpose of enriching the collections of certain museums. We cover bourses for research, residencies and project for catalogues.

Crédits Photos
© Mathilde de Galbert
John Isaacs, In Advance of the Institution, 1996
Frank Scurti, Sans titre fleurs peintes 3, 2001

The Foundation’s support actions in 2020

Museums and other venues – Donations and acquisitions of works, friends’ associations, etc.

The Museums of Grenoble, Lyon (MAC and Fine Arts), National Museum of Modern Art- Centre Pompidou, Sainte-Anne Hospital Museum of Art and History, MIAM International Museum of Modest Art (Sète), Association SHED (Rouen), Museum des Confluences (Lyon).

Other Institutions and associations – Education, Writing, Critique

– École du Louvre: support for students’ mobility
– ENSBA Paris: funding for graduates’ catalogue
– INHA/MIAM: instituting funding for research on commercial art
– Switch on Paper: support for critiques
– Catalogue for the AICA International Art Critics Association Prize

© Mathilde Ledur / Ecole du Louvre

Support for publishing (selection)

– Lectures Maison Rouge, collection edited by Patricia Falguières
– Writings on Art Brut, Lucienne Peiry, Éditions du Seuil
– Wolfgang Stoerchle, by Alice Dusapin
– Théo Mercier Catalogue
– Unica Zürn Catalogue, Sainte-Anne Hospital Museum of Art and History
– CAB Lausanne and Mamco Genève Catalogue (Quand la langue cherche son autre, by Andrea Bellini and Sarah Lombardi)
– Hubert Duprat Catalogue, Fage
– Les Abattoirs Expo Art/Résistance, Valentin Rodriguez
– Association of Artists in Exile

© Unica Zürn, Sans titre, 1960. Collection Antoine de Galbert

And many more future actions

– support for Charles Fréger’s last trip to India

La fondation a été reconnue d’utilité publique par décret du 31 janvier 2003. La fondation a créé et financé La maison rouge (2004 – 2018).