la Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l'image

What la Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l'image does

La Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l'image is a French public cultural institution (Établissement public de coopération culturelle, EPCC) founded on January 25, 1990, in Angoulême, and dedicated to the preservation, study, exhibition, and promotion of comics (bande dessinée) as the '9th art.' The institution operates an integrated multi-venue complex comprising the Musée de la bande dessinée (a museum on the Quai de la Charente housing over 20,000 original artwork plates and hosting rotating exhibitions), the Bibliothèque de la bande dessinée (a lending library with subscription-based borrowing services), the Librairie de la Cité (a specialty bookstore for comics, manga, and merchandise with on-site and online sales), the Cinéma de la Cité (an art-house cinema), the Centre de documentation (a research center with 800+ thematic documentary files), and the Maison des auteurs (an author residency facility). It also publishes Neuvième Art, an academic journal, and maintains MediaBD, a scholarly database developed with Bordeaux Montaigne and La Rochelle universities. Its technology infrastructure spans a public website (citebd.org), online ticketing (billetterie.citebd.org), online bookstore (librairie.citebd.org), online library catalog (bibliotheque.citebd.org), and the MediaBD research platform, all maintained by external vendors including Agence Propal (web development) and Progilone (MediaBD development).

The institution serves five primary customer segments: the general public (families, tourists, comics enthusiasts visiting the museum, cinema, and bookstore), schools and educators (through structured cultural mediation programs), researchers and academics (through the Centre de documentation and heritage library), comics creators and authors (through the Maison des auteurs residency program), and the social/parascolary sector (through inclusive cultural access programs). Revenue is generated through a hybrid model combining public subsidies from five government partners (Département de la Charente, Ministère de la Culture, Ville d'Angoulême, GrandAngoulême, Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine) with earned revenue from admissions (museum tickets from €6), library subscriptions (€15/year individual, €100/year collective), bookstore sales, cinema ticketing (€4-7.50), co-production fees from touring exhibitions (e.g., CLING! with Monnaie de Paris), and the bundled Carte de la Cité membership card. The institution is institutionally linked to the International Comics Festival of Angoulême (FIBD) and operates cross-border residency exchanges with partners in Slovenia, Spain, and Québec.

Name

la Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l'image

Legal name

La Cité Internationale de la Bande Dessinée et de l'Image

Website

https://citebd.org

Company type

Public

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

La Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l'image is a French public cultural institution (EPCC) in Angoulême operating an integrated comics complex comprising a museum, lending library, specialty bookstore, art-house cinema, documentation center, and author residency, serving the general public, schools, researchers, and comics creators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Cultural Institution — Comics and Image Arts Museum and Heritage Center

NAICS

Museums (712110), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131), Libraries and Archives (51921)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741), Services-Motion Picture Theaters (7830)

akta.pro primary industry

Art Museums (THAJADAA)

Keywords

• Comics museum
• Heritage library
• Cultural institution
• Author residency
• Academic publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Angoulême

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Public subsidies and government funding: The institution is an EPCC (public cultural cooperation establishment) funded by the Département de la Charente, the French Ministry of Culture, the Ville d'Angoulême, GrandAngoulême, and the Région Nouvelle Aquitaine. This multi-source public funding forms the primary financial foundation.
2. Ticketing and admissions: Revenue generated from museum and cinema admissions. Museum tickets start from €6. Cinema offers reduced rates (€6 instead of €7.50) for Carte de la Cité holders. The cinema also sells the Cinépass (50€ for 10 seats).
3. Library membership subscriptions: The library issues subscription cards: free for under-18s, €15 per year for adults. The carte collectivités (group/corporate) costs €100 per year for institutions and allows borrowing bundles of 80 albums every 5 weeks.
4. Bookstore sales (Librairie): The on-site and online bookstore sells new comics, manga, comics, youth albums, English-language comics, and merchandise (stationery, figurines, magnets, posters, mugs, board games). The Carte de la Cité offers a 5% discount on all purchases. Gift cards valued at €20 are also sold.
5. Exhibition co-productions and touring: The institution produces and co-produces temporary exhibitions that travel or are co-produced with partner institutions, such as the CLING! co-production with Monnaie de Paris (April–September 2026).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

La Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l'image operates as a public cultural complex in Angoulême dedicated to comics, graphic narrative, and image-based arts. It runs a museum of comics, a heritage library with one of the largest comics collections in the world, a specialist bookstore, a cinema for animated and adapted works, a documentation/research center, an author residency program, and an academic publishing arm issuing the journal Neuvième Art. The institution serves general visitors, researchers, students, schools, and the publishing industry through exhibitions, reading rooms, screenings, workshops, publications, and the MediaBD digital research database.

Product overview

La Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l'image is a public cultural institution (EPCC) in Angoulême, France, dedicated to the preservation, promotion, and celebration of comics as the '9th art.' The institution operates a multi-venue complex centered around Le Musée de la bande dessinée (the main museum with rotating exhibitions), La Bibliothèque de la bande dessinée (lending library), and La Librairie de la Cité (specialty bookstore). Supporting services include Le Cinéma de la Cité (art house cinema), La Maison des auteurs (author residency), and the Centre de documentation (research center). The institution also publishes Neuvième Art la revue, an academic journal on comics studies, and maintains MédiBD, a digital research database developed with university partners. A membership program, La Carte de la Cité, provides bundled access to museum entry, library privileges, bookstore discounts, and cinema benefits. Educational programs include workshops and guided tours for diverse audiences. The institution manages extensive heritage collections with over 20,000 original artwork boards and operates online through collections numérisées providing digitized access to periodicals and special collections.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Comics Museum (Musée de la bande dessinée)
• Heritage Library (Bibliothèque de la Cité)
• Specialist Bookstore (Librairie)
• Cinema / Auditorium Screenings
• Author Residency Program (Résidence d'auteurs)
• Documentation Center
• Academic Journal Neuvième Art la revue
• MediaBD Digital Research Database
• Educational Programs and School Visits
• Library Membership Cards (individual and institutional)

Quantifiable outcome

• The institution runs 6+ concurrent temporary exhibitions and hosts cross-border residencies in Slovenia, Spain, and Québec.

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Monnaie de PariscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 April 2026Co-production of the exhibition 'CLING! La bande dessinée parle cash' at Monnaie de Paris (April 10 – September 6, 2026), exploring the relationship between comics and finance. The Cité serves as delegated producer, demonstrating high-profile institutional co-production capability.
• Université Bordeaux MontaignecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead academic partner in the MediaBD project, contributing scientific expertise through the CLIMAS, MICA, CREM, ARTES, CEMMCS, AMERIBER, and LACES research laboratories. Nicolas Labarre serves as project lead.
• Université de La RochellecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner contributing through the L3i laboratory (Informatique, Image et Interaction) to the MediaBD digitization and indexing project.
• EMCA - Ecole des métiers du cinéma et de l'animationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-academic partner in the MediaBD project, contributing expertise in cinema and animation studies.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/la-cit-internationale-de-la-bande-dessin-e-et-de-l'image

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 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 la Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l'image