After the proliferation, in the 2010s, of contemporary art foundations and endowment funds, enthusiasm has given way, for some, to questioning, while the most historical ones are gaining momentum.
Already in 2018, the closure of the Maison rouge in Paris signaled the end of an era – even if the Antoine de Galbert foundation continues today to support artists through assistance with acquisitions, publishing or residencies . Since then, we have observed a questioning, or even a withdrawal, of a number of foundations and endowment funds (legal structures designed on the model of foundations but more flexible and light) focused on contemporary art. A trend that follows the decline in corporate cultural sponsorship, as recalled in a recent Admical report. Culture no longer attracts corporate sponsors. After ten years of activity, the Thalie Foundation, in Brussels, has announced that it will close its doors in 2025. A major place of support for contemporary creation, the foundation is continuing its philanthropic activities towards eco-design. “Contemporary art offers a wealth of exhibitions, and I have done my part with these ten years of philanthropyexplains Nathalie Guiot, its founder. The closure of the foundation is not so much an end as the beginning of a new chapter of commitment, more entrepreneurial this time. »
The previous year also saw the last edition of the MAIF prize for sculpture, awarded to Arthur Hoffner. Established for 16 years in the landscape of artistic patronage, the prize, with its significant endowment of 40,000 euros, distinguished Antoine Dorotte (2011) or Angelika Markul (2017). Another final clap for the Emerige endowment fund, which is suspending its Révélations grant to support emerging creation launched in 2014, but is planning an exhibition space on Seguin Island, in Boulogne-Billancourt, by 2026. “A break seemed necessary to me, at this symbolic stage that is the 10e birthday. Particularly because I noticed a phenomenon that surprised and a little annoyed me: certain artists began to have excessive demands in terms of the price of their works, totally out of step with their careers. (…) We are thinking about another way to bring this…
