Celebrating 30 Years of Étant donnés: A Comprehensive Study
Art & Design
Cover Image: Mohamed Bourouissa: Urban Riders, installation, 2017. The Barnes Foundation. Courtesy of the Barnes Foundation.
In 2024, Villa Albertine celebrated the 30th anniversary of its flagship visual arts program, Étant donnés, with the release of an unprecedented report. The milestone was marked by key events, including an immersive week for art professionals in New York during the Armory Show in September. A roundtable discussing the role of French artists in the U.S was also organized in partnership with Quotidien de l’Art at the Centre Pompidou in October.
Click below to read the report.
This online publication presents the first comprehensive case study of the Étant donnés program, bringing together all the institutions, artists, and curators involved from 1994 to 2023.
A collaboration between Villa Albertine, the French Institute for Culture and Education and Albertine Foundation, this study offers a deeper understanding of the program’s impact, which has facilitated artistic exchanges between France and the United States for three decades.
American art journalist Julia Halperin was enlisted to conduct and write this longitudinal study, which blends quantitative and qualitative methods developed through a collaborative process.
The creation of a comprehensive database began in Spring 2023, drawing on both print and digital archives. From May to July 2024, the project was expanded and refined under Halperin’s guidance. Data analysis, interviews, and writing by Halperin took place from March to November 2024.
Étant donnés is organized by Villa Albertine and Albertine Foundation with the exclusive sponsorship of AXA, in partnership with Institut Français, French Ministry of Culture and Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and ADAGP.
For more information about the conversation on “French Artists in the US: Current Trends and Future Perspectives” at the Centre Pompidou with Quotidien de l’Art, click here.
For more information on the immersive week for art professionals in New York this past September, click here.
In partnership with
AXA
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This press release and the regulated information made public by AXA pursuant to article L. 451-1-2 of the French Monetary and Financial Code and articles 222-1 et seq. of the Autorité des marchés financiers’ General Regulation are available on the AXA Group website (axa.com).
Albertine Foundation
Previously known as FACE Foundation, Albertine Foundation is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting French-American relations through innovative cultural and educational projects. In close partnership with the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States and its arts institution Villa Albertine, Albertine Foundation promotes artistic, literary, and educational exchange and collaboration between creative professionals from both countries thanks to corporate, foundation, and individual support.
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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.
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.
French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs
The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs works to represent, defend and promote the interests of France and French nationals in all areas in foreign countries and international organizations.
ADAGP
Founded by artists in 1953, the ADAGP represents 170,000 authors worldwide, in all disciplines of visual art, including painting, sculpture, photography, design, graphic novels, street art, video art, digital art, architecture and more… At the heart of an international network of 50 partner organisations, the ADAGP collects and distributes royalties, protects artists and fights to improve authors’ rights. Today, it is the world’s top society of authors in the visual arts. Eager to place creativity at the heart of the world, the ADAGP encourages the creative scene by initiating and/or financially supporting projects to highlight visual arts and promote them on a national and international scale.