C-E-A / Association française des commissaires d'exposition

What C-E-A / Association française des commissaires d'exposition does

C-E-A (Association française des commissaires d'exposition) is a French non-profit professional association founded in 2007 under the loi 1901 framework, headquartered in Paris with a secondary office at the Cité internationale des arts. The association serves as the primary professional body for exhibition curators (commissaires d'exposition) operating in connection with French territory, providing networking, advocacy, professional resources, and paid curatorial opportunities. C-E-A has accumulated over 500 members since its founding, with approximately 250 active members participating annually. Its core mission is to structure, professionalize, and advocate for the curatorial profession, addressing issues such as fair remuneration, contract standardization, social protection, and professional recognition.

The association's product surface consists of membership subscriptions (active and benefactor tiers), a professional resources toolkit (standard contract templates, an SMIC-indexed salary calculator, a professional card, member directory), and several programs: KUNHAVIGI portfolio readings with Cité internationale des arts, the Coast Contemporary Norway exchange partnership (since 2019, contributing to 340+ collaborations), the unRepresented curatorial writing partnership, monthly Café du réseau networking events, and a 2026 large-scale sociological survey on the curatorial profession conducted with sociologist Sylvia Girel. Revenue is generated through membership dues, public grants from the Direction générale de la création artistique at the Ministère de la Culture, and solidarity merchandise sales via HelloAsso. The association employs 9 staff and operates with minimal technology infrastructure, relying on a website, email newsletter (Mailchimp), LinkedIn, and Instagram for distribution. Key institutional partners include CIPAC, CNC, the French Ministry of Culture, Cité internationale des arts, Coast Contemporary, and unRepresented by Approche.

Name

C-E-A / Association française des commissaires d'exposition

Legal name

C-E-A / Association française des commissaires d'exposition

Website

https://c-e-a.asso.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

C-E-A is a French non-profit professional association founded in 2007 that serves as the primary membership body for exhibition curators in France, providing networking, professional resources, advocacy, and paid curatorial opportunities to 250+ active members annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Professional & Association Conferences (MPAGAGAB)

Keywords

• Professional association services
• Exhibition curation resources
• Membership networking
• Art curator advocacy
• Contemporary arts programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership dues from curators (both active members and patron/member benefactors). Members receive access to professional resources, networking opportunities, and paid project opportunities.
2. Merchandise Sales: Sale of solidarity merchandise (t-shirts, sweatshirts) through HelloAsso partnership. Association receives approximately 25% of profits from sales (e.g., €7.25 per t-shirt sold goes directly to association treasury).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

C-E-A / Association française des commissaires d'exposition is a French non-profit professional association founded in 2007 that groups and supports exhibition curators working in contemporary art. It sells annual memberships and provides a suite of professional resources including standard contracts, a remuneration calculator indexed on the SMIC, a member directory, professional cards, monthly networking cafés, international curatorial exchange programs (Kunhavigi, Coast Contemporary, unRepresented), and advocacy for the recognition of the curatorial profession.

Product overview

C-E-A / Association française des commissaires d'exposition is a professional membership association for exhibition curators in France, founded in 2007. The organization does not offer a technology product but rather provides a suite of professional programs and services including membership networking, the KUNHAVIGI portfolio reading program with Cité internationale des arts, the Coast Contemporary Norway partnership, the unRepresented curatorial collaboration, a comprehensive professional resources toolkit (contract templates, salary calculator), the monthly Café du réseau networking events, and a large-scale sociological survey initiative. These services collectively support the professionalization, networking, and advocacy for independent exhibition curators.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• C-E-A Membership Network Annual membership in the French professional association for exhibition curators, granting access to networking events, the professional directory, paid curatorial opportunities, and the professional resources toolkit.
• KUNHAVIGI Portfolio Reading Program A structured curatorial program connecting C-E-A member curators with artists-in-residence at Cité internationale des arts for individual 45-minute portfolio review sessions, supporting professional exchange and career development.
• Coast Contemporary Partnership Program An annual international curatorial exchange program enabling French C-E-A curators to visit Norway for performances, exhibitions, discussions, and networking with Norwegian and international art professionals.
• Professional Resources Toolkit (Boîte à outils) A comprehensive collection of professional resources for independent exhibition curators, including standard contract templates, the remuneration calculator indexed on the SMIC, the remuneration guide, the professional card, and the job description sheet (Fiche métier).
• unRepresented Curatorial Collaboration A partnership program with the unRepresented gallery fair that enables C-E-A curators to meet and write about artists not represented by galleries, with compensation for commissioned texts on emerging artists' work.
• Monthly Network Café (Café du réseau) Regular monthly in-person networking events welcoming new members and providing a forum for sharing experiences, needs, and mutual support among French exhibition curators.
• Solidarity Merchandise Store Online solidarity merchandise store (t-shirts and sweatshirts) operated through the HelloAsso/MadeInAsso partnership, with a portion of each sale directed to the association's treasury to fund activities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 340+ collaborations facilitated through Coast Contemporary partnership
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• unRepresented by ApprochecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Partnership for the unRepresented art fair offers C-E-A members opportunities to meet artists not represented by galleries, write presentation texts, and participate in collaborative art projects. Fourth edition in 2026. Associated partners include Rubis Mécénat and La Station Culturelle (Martinique).
• Coast ContemporarycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Partnership established in 2019 between C-E-A and Coast Contemporary (Norway) offers annual professional trips for member curators to discover the Norwegian art scene. Coast Contemporary is founded by artist Tanja Sæter in 2015 and has contributed to over 340 collaborations. The partnership provides curated visits, performances, discussions, and networking with Norwegian and international art professionals.
• Cité internationale des artscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the Kunhavigi program connecting C-E-A member curators with artists in residence at the Cité internationale des arts in Paris. Provides portfolio reading sessions and professional development opportunities for both curators and artists.
• CIPACcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerC-E-A is a member of CIPAC (Fédération des Associations de Professionnels des Arts Contemporains), participating in sector mobilization and advocacy for visual arts policies. C-E-A signed the CIPAC communiqué alerting about closures of contemporary art venues in France.
• CNC (Centre National du Cinéma et de l'Image Animée)minorOthersListed as institutional partner providing support to the association
• Ministère de la Culture / Direction générale de la création artistiquecoreOthersOfficial government partner providing support for sociological survey on curatorial profession and general association activities. Provided backing for 2026 sociological survey conducted with L'Observatoire des publics et des pratiques de la culture.
• HelloAsso / MadeInAssominorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPlatform partnership for solidarity merchandise store. Association receives approximately 25% of profits from sales. Partnership created for 125th anniversary of French law 1901 on associations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• CIMAM (International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art): International committee affiliated with ICOM focused on modern and contemporary art museum professionals. CIMAM operates at a broader scope than C-E-A, encompassing museum directors and curators in large institutions, but provides a benchmark for international curator advocacy.
• FRAAP (Fédération des Réseaux et Associations d'Artistes Plasticiens): French federation of visual-artists' networks and associations. Comparable non-profit federation model serving visual-arts professionals in France, but oriented toward artist-member organisations rather than curators.
• Maison des Artistes: French association managing the social-security regime for visual artists (auteur scheme). Adjacent to C-E-A as a French arts-professional body, but covers artists-auteurs broadly rather than exhibition curators specifically.

Emerging players

• Triangle Network: International network of artist- and curator-led organisations. Triangle Network overlaps with C-E-A in supporting independent curators through international exchange, with a more grassroots, organisation-based structure.

Direct peers

• AICA (International Association of Art Critics): International non-profit association representing art critics and writers. AICA shares C-E-A's federation-based professional-body model in the adjacent discipline of art criticism, with comparable national-section structure and policy-advocacy remit.
• Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC): US-based professional association for art-museum curators, providing networking, advocacy, and professional development. AAMC is directly comparable to C-E-A in its trade-body model for curators, though operating in a museum-employment rather than independent-curator context.
• Independent Curators International (ICI): New York-based non-profit that supports curators through travelling exhibitions, publications, and professional programmes. ICI mirrors C-E-A's curator-focused mission at a larger international scale and serves as a reference point for cross-border curatorial exchange.
• IKT (International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art): International professional association for contemporary-art curators, founded in 2013. IKT is the closest international analogue to C-E-A, with a comparable mission of professionalising and representing exhibition curators.

Regional players

• Contemporary Art Society (UK): UK charity that places contemporary art in public collections and supports curators and collectors. Comparable non-profit professional intermediary model, though UK-focused and museum-anchored rather than independent-curator focused.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/c-e-a-association
• Instagraminstagram.com/ceacommissaires

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about C-E-A / Association française des commissaires d'exposition