Distinction GRAND MECENE (Grand Sponsor)
The Fondation d’entreprise Ricard is awarded the distinction of Grand Sponsor by the Ministry of Culture.
On June 3 Christine Albanel, the French minister of Culture and Communication, presented the distinction of « Grand Mécène de la Culture » to the Fondation d’Entreprise Ricard. The distinction, handed to Ricard C.E.O. Philippe Savinel, honors the commitment of the foundation to helping young talents on the French art scene. Thanks to this active, supportive, and permanent presence, the foundation has become one of the leading lights in contemporary art.
This patronage draws on the values inherited from the founder of the company, Paul Ricard, who would have turned 100 this year. A former student of Fine Arts, a friend of Picasso’s and Dali’s, this pioneer revived the tradition of patronage from the 1960s on by helping young talents introduce themselves to the public.
His avant-gardist vision and his respect for those who innovate and create have since been amplified by Colette Barbier, the director of the Fondation d’entreprise Ricard. Today, this commitment makes it possible for young creators wishing to show specific projects to do so. It gives them the means of their production and offers them a suitable exhibition space designed with the collaboration of architects Jakob and McFarlane.
In 2009, another anniversary involves the Fondation even more closely, with the ten years of the Fondation d’entreprise Ricard Award. It will be celebrated next October with an exhibition of the ten recipients at the Centre Pompidou. The Award is presented every year on the occasion of the Bal Jaune [« yellow ball »] during the FIAC. A jury comprising collectors and friends of museums select one of the ten artists in the exhibition which the Fondation commissions every year from a curator. The Award involves the purchase of a work from the recipient, which is then given to the Centre Pompidou and exhibited in its permanent collections.
