Fondation des Artistes

What Fondation des Artistes does

The Fondation des Artistes is a French public utility foundation (fondation reconnue d'utilité publique) created by government decree in 1976, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2026. It supports visual and performing artists across the entirety of their professional lives, from graduation through end-of-career, providing workshops, production grants, exhibition programming, international residencies, and specialized retirement care. The foundation is headquartered at the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild in Paris (9–11 rue Berryer) and operates a 10-hectare estate in Nogent-sur-Marne.

Its service portfolio is organized through four wholly-owned operating arms: the MABA (Maison d'Art Bernard Anthonioz) contemporary art center opened in 2006; the Maison nationale des artistes, an EHPAD retirement home for elderly artists with 80 residents in 77 rooms; the Bibliothèque Smith-Lesouëf, a heritage library housing over 18,000 books, manuscripts and incunables; and the Moly-Sabata artist residency in Corsica. The foundation also allocates approximately 72 artist studios across the Le Hameau (37 workshops) and Cité Guy-Loë (35 studios/lodgings) complexes, and runs the Commission Mécénat patronage program that awards roughly 46 new visual arts production grants twice yearly.

The foundation has no proprietary technology platform and operates as a non-profit cultural and social organization. Revenue is generated through four primary streams: rental income from the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild (the primary funding source), donations and legacies from individuals (rooted in 1922 and 1944 founding bequests), guided tour fees for the Paris heritage site (priced at €8.50–€1,100 per visit), and EHPAD daily rates (€104.16–€105.72 accommodation plus tiered GIR-based dependency fees) set annually by the Val-de-Marne General Council. Leadership consists of President Charles Guyot (elected December 2024) and Director General Laurence Maynier.

Name

Fondation des Artistes

Legal name

Fondation des Artistes

Website

https://fondationdesartistes.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Fondation des Artistes is a French public utility foundation created in 1976 that supports visual and performing artists across their careers, operating the MABA contemporary art center, an EHPAD for elderly artists, a heritage library, workshops, residencies, and a patronage commission awarding roughly 46 art production grants per cycle.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Arts and Cultural Foundation Services

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Museums (712110), Historical Sites (712120)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Art, Arts Councils & Grantmaking Programs (BPAGAHAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces (Commercial & Nonprofit) (THAJADAH), Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA), Full-Service Artist Management (MPAIAGAA)

Keywords

• Artist support services
• Art residency programs
• Contemporary art center
• Artist care facilities
• Cultural philanthropy

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Rental income from Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild: The Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild in Paris serves as the foundation's headquarters and is the primary source of rental income that enables the foundation to fulfill its mission of supporting artists.
2. Donations and legacies: The foundation was created to administer the founding legacies of Baroness de Rothschild (1922) and the Smith sisters (1944), and continues to benefit from donations and legacies from individuals such as Pierre Guastalla and Andrée Joubert.
3. Guided tour fees: The foundation charges fees for guided visits of the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild (private visits, group visits, and individual visits), providing revenue from cultural tourism services.
4. EHPAD (elderly care home) daily rates: The Maison nationale des artistes generates revenue through daily rates for accommodation, care, and dependency levels charged to residents of the EHPAD. These rates are set annually by the President of the Val-de-Marne General Council.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Fondation des Artistes is a French public-utility nonprofit foundation that supports professional artists across their entire career — from graduation through old age. It allocates around 75 workshops and studios, funds roughly 46 visual-arts production grants per patronage cycle, runs the MABA contemporary art center and Moly-Sabata residency, manages the Bibliothèque Smith-Lesouëf heritage library, and operates the Maison nationale des artistes EHPAD for 80 elderly artist residents, financed largely by rental income from the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild in Paris.

Product overview

The Fondation des Artistes is a public utility foundation serving artists from their graduation from art school to the end of their careers. It operates a multi-faceted cultural portfolio comprising: MABA (contemporary art center), the Maison nationale des artistes (EHPAD care home for elderly artists), the Bibliothèque Smith-Lesouëf (heritage library), the Moly-Sabata artist residency, the Atelier A artist portrait collection, the Commission Mécénat patronage program, artist studio complexes (Le Hameau and Cité Guy-Loë), and the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild heritage site with its Cabinet de curiosités. The Foundation also organizes exhibitions, concerts, philosophical discussions, and educational programs for various audiences including schools and families.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MABA (Maison d'Art Bernard Anthonioz): Contemporary art center created in 2006, located in Nogent-sur-Marne, named in honor of Bernard Anthonioz
• Maison nationale des artistes
• Bibliothèque Smith-Lesouëf
• Moly-Sabata

Products and services

• MABA (Maison d'Art Bernard Anthonioz) Contemporary art center at Nogent-sur-Marne hosting exhibitions, school and youth programming, family activities (birthday parties, holiday stages), and group/individual visits, with free admission.
• Maison nationale des artistes (EHPAD) Specialized retirement home (EHPAD) for elderly artists aged 60+, providing accommodation, care, and dependency services alongside a daily cultural program of four annual exhibitions, concerts, philosophy sessions, and lectures.
• Bibliothèque Smith-Lesouëf Heritage library housing over 18,000 books, manuscripts, and incunabula from Auguste Lesouëf's collection, open to the public in Nogent-sur-Marne; labelled Patrimoine d'Intérêt Régional and Maison des Illustres.
• Moly-Sabata Artist Residency Artist residency program in Corsica dedicated to producing works of art, supporting artists with time and space to create.
• Commission Mécénat (Patronage Commission) Grant program supporting the production of visual artworks, awarding project funding to artists and art-school collectives twice per year through a jury-based selection.
• Atelier A (Artist Portrait Collection) Collection of contemporary artist portraits offering a behind-the-scenes view of artistic creation through sculptures, paintings, photography, video, and design, launched in 2014.
• Artist Studios — Le Hameau and Cité Guy-Loë Allocated workshop and studio-lodging spaces for visual artists at the Nogent-sur-Marne estate, providing affordable working space to about 75 resident artists.
• Guided Tours and Cultural Visits (Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild) Private, group, and individual guided visits of the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild, including the Cabinet de curiosités and Rotonde Balzac, available in multiple languages and tiered by visitor count.
• Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild (Heritage Site) Monument Historique-classified historic mansion in Paris serving as the foundation's headquarters, with the Cabinet de curiosités and Rotonde Balzac open to the public and a one-hectare public garden open via partnership with the Mairie de Paris.

Quantifiable outcome

• 80 elderly artist residents cared for in dedicated EHPAD
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Institut Sacatar (Brazil)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 January 2024The foundation has financed multiple sessions of international artist residencies at the Institut Sacatar in Brazil, supporting French artists' international residencies.
• ArtcurialminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 13 July 2023Artcurial auction house organized the 'Premier Regard' sale benefiting the Fondation des Artistes, generating revenue through a charity auction of artworks.
• ESAD PyrénéesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 February 2022A new partnership was concluded with ESAD Pyrénées to support art education and student professionalization.
• Casa de Velázquez (Spain)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 August 2021The foundation supported Clara Jolly as beneficiary of a residency at the Casa de Velázquez in Madrid through EESAB partnership.
• École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Nîmes (EESAB)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 September 2019Partnership with EESAB Nîmes to support art students, including a program to support 16 artist collectives formed at the school. The QUELT program was launched in partnership with EESAB to provide professionalization support for art students.
• Bibliothèque nationale de FranceminorOthers · 9 April 2019The Bibliothèque Smith-Lesouëf's collections of over 18,000 books were managed by the Bibliothèque nationale de France until the 1980s. In 2019, the BnF deposited furniture and art objects from Auguste Lesouëf's collection with the foundation.
• Fonderie Darling (Canada)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 February 2019The foundation has financed multiple sessions of transatlantic artist residencies at the Fonderie Darling in Montreal, Canada, supporting international artist exchange between France and Canada.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Palais de Tokyo: Major contemporary art center in Paris producing exhibitions, residencies, and public programming. Comparable in operating a contemporary-art exhibition venue (analog to MABA) serving artists and the general public, though at a larger scale and with different funding sources.
• ADAGP (Société des Auteurs dans les Arts Graphiques et Plastiques): French collective management organization representing visual artists' rights and distributing royalties. Comparable in serving the same professional visual-artist constituency across their careers and providing patronage/grant-like financial support mechanisms.
• Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain: Corporate arts foundation in Paris operating exhibition programming, artist commissions, and a cultural venue. Comparable as a French foundation underwriting contemporary-art production and exhibitions, though its funding model relies on a single corporate patron versus the Fondation des Artistes' diversified rental, donation, and care revenue.
• Villa Médicis (Académie de France à Rome): French state's artist residency program housed in a historic villa, providing residencies, production support, and exhibition opportunities to French artists abroad. Directly comparable in mission (supporting French visual artists via subsidized production, residency, and international promotion) and in public-utility funding model.
• Lafayette Anticipations — Fondation d'entreprise Galeries Lafayette: Paris-based contemporary art foundation operating residencies, commissions, and exhibitions from a heritage-adapted building. Closely comparable in combining a heritage site with artist residencies, contemporary-art programming, and a foundation governance structure.
• Cité Internationale des Arts: Paris-based residency complex offering subsidized studios to international and French artists across visual arts, music, and performance. Directly comparable to the Fondation des Artistes' Moly-Sabata residency and Le Hameau/Cité Guy-Loë studio allocation programs, serving the same core constituency of professional artists at similar career stages.
• Fonds de dotation agnès b. French endowment fund supporting contemporary art, photography, and socially engaged cultural programming. Comparable as a private French cultural endowment underwriting artist production grants and exhibitions — analogous to the Fondation des Artistes' patronage commission.
• Maison des Artistes (MDA): French association managing social security and professional status for visual artists, photographers, and designers. Comparable in serving the same professional artist constituency across their careers, though focused on social-security administration rather than production grants, residencies, and elder care.

Broad incumbents

• Centre Pompidou: France's flagship national museum and contemporary-art venue. Comparable as a Paris cultural institution curating contemporary art and offering public programming, but at vastly larger scale with state operating budget rather than foundation rental-income model.
• Institut Français: Public agency promoting French culture abroad, including contemporary arts. Comparable in its mission to promote French artists internationally — a stated mission of the Fondation des Artistes via its Fonderie Darling, Institut Sacatar, and Casa de Velázquez residencies — but operates at a national-platform level.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/la-fondation-des-artistes

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries4 records

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 Fondation des Artistes