Villa Albertine Announces the Launch of the Villa Albertine Fund for the Arts to Strengthen French-American Artistic Exchange
© Des Signes
Bringing together five flagship grant programs under one umbrella, the Villa Albertine Fund for the Arts will support artistic creation, collaboration, and cultural exchange between France and the United States. The initiative is developed by Villa Albertine in partnership with Albertine Foundation, with the AXA Foundation for Human Progress as its Founding Patron.
Villa Albertine is pleased to announce the launch of the Villa Albertine Fund for the Arts, a new multi-year initiative bringing together five of its established grant programs to strengthen support for artistic creation and cultural collaboration between France and the United States.
For more than 30 years, through dedicated programs in the fields of visual arts, theater, dance, music, film, and new media, Villa Albertine has supported the circulation of French artistic creation in the United States and fostered Franco-American collaborations through open calls for projects.
The Villa Albertine Fund for the Arts will bring these programs together under a single, multidisciplinary fund: FUSED (French-US Exchange in Dance), Albertine Music, Immersive Exhibition Grants (new media), Étant donnés (visual arts), and Albertine Theater and New Forms (performing arts and hybrid forms).
The initiative aims to foster ambitious projects, encourage new partnerships, and expand opportunities for French and American artists to engage with audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.
The launch of the Fund marks a new chapter in Villa Albertine’s partnership with the AXA Foundation for Human Progress, extending a multi-year collaboration initiated in 2024, supporting the institution’s Étant donnés program and Marfa residency program. As Founding Patron of the Villa Albertine Fund for the Arts, the AXA Foundation for Human Progress supports this one-of-a-kind, comprehensive initiative dedicated to artistic creation and Franco-American cultural exchange.
The Villa Albertine Fund for the Arts also receives support from the French Ministry of Culture, the Institut français, ADAGP, the Centre national de la musique, Comité Professionnel des Galeries d’Art (CPGA), Unifrance, Denise Littlefield Sobel, Mélanie and Frédéric Biessy.
Learn more about the featured programs below and stay tuned for the opening of the next application cycle on December 1.
One Fund, Five Programs
The Fund encompasses:
- Villa Albertine Fund for the Arts – Contemporary Art (formerly Étant donnés): Supporting exhibitions, curatorial research, and institutional partnerships that promote French and American contemporary artists on both sides of the Atlantic.
- Villa Albertine Fund for the Arts – Dance (formerly FUSED): Encouraging artistic exchange and collaboration in contemporary dance, supporting the presentation of French choreographic work in the United States and partnerships between dance professionals.
- Villa Albertine Fund for the Arts – Theater & New Forms: Supporting the presentation and development of French theater and innovative performance practices in the United States, fostering collaboration between artists, presenters, and cultural institutions.
- Villa Albertine Fund for the Arts – New Media: Supporting the international development and visibility of French immersive and innovative creative experiences and fostering connections with American cultural and industry partners.
- Villa Albertine Fund for the Arts – Music: Supporting the promotion and circulation of French music in the United States, fostering collaborations between French musicians and American presenters, festivals, and cultural institutions.
Together, these programs reflect the diversity and vitality of contemporary artistic creation while addressing the evolving needs of artists and institutions working internationally.
In partnership with
The AXA Foundation for Human Progress
The AXA Foundation for Human Progress brings together the main philanthropic actions of AXA Group and AXA Mutuelles d’Assurances, in France and worldwide. With an endowment of 60 million euros per year, this fund aims to amplify support for impactful projects in AXA’s four historical areas of sponsorship: science, nature, solidarity and culture. The AXA Foundation for Human Progress is fully aligned with AXA’s mission: “Acting for human progress by protecting what matters.” Through this Fund, AXA implements its broader vision of protection, which extends to the resilience of societies and the reduction of inequalities, today and for future generations.
Media relations: +33.1.40.75.46.74 ziad.gebran@axa.com ahlem.girard@axa.com sylwia.tulak@axa.com
Albertine Foundation
Albertine Foundation is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting French American relations through innovative cultural and educational programs. In close partnership with Villa Albertine, the French Institute for Culture and Education, Albertine Foundation administers grant programs across diverse creative disciplines including visual and performing arts; cinema; and literature, while also supporting exploratory residencies for creative professionals and thinkers across the United States. Albertine Foundation also contributes to promoting French language learning in the United States and funds new opportunities for students, professors, and researchers in the spheres of secondary and higher education. Albertine Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation by Internal Revenue Service determination. Contributions from corporate, foundation, and individuals are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Ministry of Culture
The French Ministry of Culture aims to make the major works of humanity— and especially those of France— accessible to the largest number of people possible. As such, it maintains a policy of conservation, of protection, and of development of all components of French cultural heritage. It promotes the creation of works of art and of the mind, and the development of art practices and education. It further contributes to cultural initiatives outside of France, and to initiatives relating to the establishment of French cultural programs throughout the world.
Institut français
The Institut français is responsible for France’s international cultural program. Supervised by both the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and by the Ministry of Culture, it promotes French culture abroad through cultural exchange initiatives. Operating in a space where the arts, intellectual exchange, cultural and social innovation, and linguistic partnerships interact and intersect, it is also responsible for promoting the French language and the sharing of works, artists, and ideas all over the world. The Institut français is one of Villa Albertine’s main French partners.
ADAGP
Created in 1953, ADAGP is a French organisation that collects and distributes royalties. It operates in the field of the visual arts.
With a worldwide network of 56 sister societies, it currently represents more than 265,000 artists across all disciplines: painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, design, comic books, manga, illustration, street art, digital creation, video art, etc.
In addition to authors’ rights management, ADAGP supports the art scene by initiating and funding projects meant to facilitate and enhance creation on both the national and international level.
Centre national de la musique
Created on January 1, 2020, the CNM is an organization designed to accompany and support the various stakeholders in the music sector, from artists and songwriters to labels, music publishers, concert promoters, venues, managers, sound engineers and retailers. The CNM is a public-private partnership, operating under the aegis of the French Ministry of Culture.
The French Professional Committee of Art Galleries
Since 1947, the Comité Professionnel des Galeries d’Art (CPGA) has represented art galleries in France and defended their interests in dealings with institutional representatives and administrative authorities. It participates in the development of art market regulations and contributes to cultural policies favoring the growth of the art sector. For several years now, the CPGA has been involved in major cultural events, helping to raise the profile of art galleries as genuine partners in artistic creation. It also works to develop the French art scene internationally.
Follow CPGA on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Unifrance
Founded in 1949 and strengthened thanks to its merger with TV France International in 2021, Unifrance is the organisation responsible for promoting French cinema and TV content worldwide.
Located in Paris, Unifrance employs around 50 staff members, as well as representatives based in the U.S., in China, and soon in Japan. The organisation currently brings together more than 1,000 French cinema and TV content professionals (producers, filmmaking talents, agents, sales companies, etc.) working together to promote French films and TV programmes among foreign audiences, industry executives and media.