COAL

What COAL does

COAL (Coalition pour une écologie culturelle) is a French non-profit association (loi 1901) founded in 2008 and headquartered in Paris at 21 bis rue de Paradis, operating with a core team of 7 employees. The organization mobilizes contemporary artists and cultural actors around environmental and societal issues and positions itself as the principal actor in France for cultural ecology. It is co-led by Lauranne Germond (Vice President) and Loïc Fel, and operates under pluriannual conventions with the French Ministry of Ecology and Ministry of Culture. Over 15+ years, COAL has produced more than 100 exhibitions across France and Europe and engaged artists from 50+ countries through its prize and residency programs.

COAL's portfolio centers on three product pillars: (1) annual prizes — the Prix COAL Art et Environnement (since 2010, €10,000 purse) and the Prix étudiant COAL (since 2020), plus coordination of the Prix MAIF Métamorphoses (€20,000 grand prize) since 2026; (2) cultural programming and exhibitions — including Les Extatiques at Paris La Défense (2026-2027), the traveling COALITION exhibition, Les Nuits des Forêts festival, and curated shows at major cultural venues; and (3) knowledge and cooperation infrastructure — the Ressource0.com online media/resource platform (since 2013), the Transformative Territories European cooperation program (2024-2026) with five European partners under Creative Europe funding, La Régénérative Académie master class, and artist residencies (e.g., Foyer on Isle of Elba with Influence For Good; LABVERDE in Brazil). The organization also provides artistic direction and advisory services to institutions, local authorities, and companies.

Revenue is generated through three streams: grants and institutional funding (French ministries, Creative Europe), private partnership funding (notably MAIF and Influence For Good), and curatorial/advisory professional services. Customer segments span contemporary artists and curators (primary), cultural institutions and museums, French local authorities and communities, and the general public. COAL does not develop proprietary technology products; Ressource0.com is a content portal rather than a technology platform, and there are no AI capabilities, APIs, or SDKs. Distribution relies on event programming, institutional venue partnerships, the online portal, and European cooperation networks, with no commercial pricing model.

Name

COAL

Legal name

COAL, Coalition pour une écologie culturelle

Website

https://projetcoal.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

COAL (Coalition pour une écologie culturelle) is a French non-profit founded in 2008 that mobilizes contemporary artists and cultural institutions on ecological issues through annual art prizes, exhibitions, European cooperation programs, curatorial advisory services, and the Ressource0.com resource platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grants and Institutional Funding: COAL receives support from public institutions including the French Ministry of Ecology, Ministry of Culture, and operates under pluriannual conventions with government bodies.
2. Partnership Funding: The organization partners with private sponsors such as MAIF for the Prix MAIF Métamorphoses, and receives financial support from organizations like Influence For Good for specific programs.
3. Advisory and Curatorial Services: COAL provides artistic advice and direction services to institutions, local authorities, and companies for sustainable development through art initiatives.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

COAL is a non-profit cultural association that mobilizes artists and cultural actors on environmental and ecological issues through prizes (Prix COAL, Prix MAIF Métamorphoses), exhibitions, artistic direction, curatorial services, residencies, European cooperation programs, and the Ressource0.com online resource platform. The organization advises and supports institutions, local authorities, and companies on integrating ecology into cultural programming while running flagship events such as Les Nuits des Forêts and Les Extatiques.

Product overview

COAL (Coalition pour une écologie culturelle) is a cultural ecology association offering a portfolio of products and services centered on art and environmental engagement. The core offerings include the annual Prix COAL Art and Environment prize (since 2010) and the coordinated Prix MAIF Métamorphoses art prize; the Ressource0.com online platform combining media, resource center, and collaborative features for art-ecology knowledge sharing; and La Régénérative Académie educational masterclass. COAL also delivers the European cooperation program Transformative Territories (2024-2026), cultural events including Les Nuits des Forêts and Les Extatiques cultural season, the traveling COALITION exhibition program, artistic direction and advisory services for institutions and companies, and artist residency programs exploring ecological themes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Prix COAL: Annual COAL Art and Environment Prize awarded to contemporary artists involved in environmental issues since 2010
• Prix étudiant COAL - Culture & Diversité
• Ressource0.com
• Prix MAIF Métamorphoses
• Les Extatiques
• COALITION
• Les Nuits des Forêts

Products and services

• Prix COAL Annual COAL Art and Environment Prize awarded since 2010, recognizing contemporary artists engaged with environmental issues through international calls and juried selection.
• Prix MAIF Métamorphoses Art prize dedicated to emerging artists engaged in ecological transition and biodiversity, coordinated by COAL since 2026 with 10 laureates, La Régénérative Académie residency, and a 20,000 EUR grand prize for the winning project.
• Ressource0.com Online media and resource center dedicated to art, ecology, and sustainable development, combining news, thematic dossiers, actor directories, practical tools, and bibliographic resources.
• La Régénérative Académie Master class program created and piloted by COAL as part of the Prix MAIF Métamorphoses, dedicated to transformative artistic practices in and with nature, biodiversity, and public mobilization.
• Transformative Territories European cooperation program (2024-2026) coordinated by COAL with five European partners exploring the role of arts and transformative artistic practices at territorial scale, supported by Creative Europe.
• Les Nuits des Forêts Annual forest-themed cultural festival bringing together arts, ecology, and public engagement through immersive forest experiences combining performances, workshops, scientific walks, and artistic interventions.
• Les Extatiques Cultural season for Paris La Défense (2026-2027) under the artistic direction of COAL, featuring exhibitions, installations, and artistic events exploring ecological themes in public and professional spaces.
• COALITION Traveling exhibition under the curatorship of COAL, co-produced with local partners, featuring artists engaged for ecology and biodiversity with territorial adaptations that echo regional ecosystems and environmental issues.
• Direction artistique et conseil (Artistic direction and advisory services) Bespoke curatorial and artistic direction services advising institutions, local authorities, and companies on sustainable development through art, including collection creation, skills sponsorship, thematic exhibitions, partnership development, and artist placement.
• Artist residencies Artist residency programs exploring ecological themes, including the Foyer research residency at Isle of Elbe (2024) in partnership with Influence For Good and joint Brazil-France residencies with LABVERDE.

Quantifiable outcome

• Prix COAL Art et Environnement awarded annually since 2010 with 10,000 EUR prize
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Office National des Forêts (ONF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 June 2026Co-organized Les Nuits des Forêts 2026 in Fontainebleau forest under the 'Fontainebleau, Forêt d'Exception' label, providing forest management expertise and hosting events.
• Université Paris Cité - Station d'écologie forestièrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 June 2026Academic partner hosting Les Nuits des Forêts daytime events, contributing scientific expertise on forest ecology and biodiversity.
• Réserve de biosphère de Fontainebleau et du GâtinaiscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 June 2026Co-organized Les Nuits des Forêts 2026, contributing biosphere reserve expertise and status to the forest conservation event.
• INDARRAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 May 2026INDARRA co-produced the COALITION exhibition with COAL at DIDAM Bayonne, creating a territorial version of the exhibition originally presented at Gaîté Lyrique. INDARRA initiated the adaptation of the project to the Southwest territory of France.
• DIDAM de BayonnecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 May 2026DIDAM, the cultural center of Bayonne, hosted the COALITION exhibition from May to September 2026, partnering with COAL for artistic direction and with the Natural History Museum of Bayonne for additional collections.
• Paris La DéfensecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 March 2026Paris La Défense organized the Les Extatiques cultural season with COAL providing artistic direction. The 2026-2027 season features 'Sous l'Horizon' exhibition under the Grande Arche.
• LABVERDEcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2025LABVERDE, the Manaus-based Brazilian center for artistic and environmental research, partnered with COAL for a joint residency program focused on tropical biodiversity challenges as part of the France-Brazil Cultural Season 2025.
• Cité du Développement DurablecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2025Co-presented the Brazil-France 2025 artistic residency and exhibition program at the Jardin d'Agronomie Tropicale de Paris-René Dumont, hosting Fabiana Ex-Souza and Felipe Shibuya.
• Inland/Campo Adentro (Spain)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024One of five European partners in the Transformative Territories program (2024-2026), led by COAL. Inland connects art and rurality with a shepherds' school, publishing house, and other actions. Initiated by Fernando Garcia Dory in 2009.
• ArtMill (Czech Republic)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024European partner in Transformative Territories program. ArtMill is a sustainable artistic experimentation center on the site of a former mill in Bohemia, created by American artist Barbara Benish.
• Locus Athens/Tavros (Greece)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024European partner in Transformative Territories program. Locus Athens created Tavros, a cultural space in Athens promoting operational art for ecology, democracy, and equality.
• Instituto Terra Memoria (Portugal)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024European partner in Transformative Territories program. ITM federates the village of Maçao and intercontinental partners around social, environmental, and cultural challenges of ecological transition through archaeology and memory.
• Zone Sensible (France)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024European partner in Transformative Territories program. Zone Sensible, created by Olivier Darné, operates a permaculture farm in Saint Denis (Paris suburb) to reenchant disfigured suburban landscapes.
• Centre des Politiques de la TerreminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Provides scientific accompaniment for the Transformative Territories program, contributing academic expertise to the European cooperation initiative.
• Institut Michel SerresminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Provides scientific accompaniment for the Transformative Territories program, contributing philosophical and scientific expertise.
• Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 March 2011Long-standing partner hosting Art, Ecology & Sustainable Development workshops since 2011, collaborating on FIAC round tables, and co-presenting exhibitions at the Grande Galerie de l'Evolution.
• British CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 March 2011Partnered with COAL for the 2011 Art, Ecology & Sustainable Development workshop at MNHN, contributing international cultural exchange perspective.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Cape Farewell: Cape Farewell is a UK-based non-profit that commissions artists and cultural leaders to respond to climate change, with similar curatorial/prize/residency programming to COAL. Directly comparable mission, structure, and target audience of contemporary artists engaging with environmental issues.
• LABVERDE: LABVERDE is a Manaus-based center for artistic and environmental research that runs residencies and exhibitions on tropical biodiversity; already a COAL partner with directly aligned activities and audience.
• Julie's Bicycle: Julie's Bicycle is a UK non-profit supporting the arts to act on climate change through research, programs, and advisory services. Closely comparable as a non-profit mobilising cultural actors on environmental transition with institutional clients.
• Zone Sensible: French permaculture-farm-based artistic project by Olivier Darn\u00e9 reenchanting suburban landscapes; already a COAL partner with overlapping programming on art, ecology, and territories.
• Inland / Campo Adentro: Spanish platform connecting art and rurality with residencies, a shepherds' school, and publishing; directly comparable because it is one of COAL's five partners in Transformative Territories with overlapping mission and format.
• Invisible Dust: Invisible Dust is a UK non-profit commissioning artists to engage with environmental science and ecology through exhibitions and public programs. Shares COAL's hybrid model of curatorial direction, partnerships with research institutions, and artist commissions.
• ArtMill: Czech sustainable artistic experimentation center on a former mill site, founded by artist Barbara Benish; directly comparable because it is one of COAL's five Transformative Territories partners with overlapping residency/exhibition programming.

Broad incumbents

• Mus\u00e9um national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN): Long-standing French public natural history museum hosting COAL's "Art, Ecology & Sustainable Development" workshops since 2011; comparable as a large incumbent running cultural ecology programming at greater scale.
• TBA21 \u2013 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary: Austrian private art foundation commissioning artists on ecological and oceanic themes; broader portfolio and larger budget than COAL but overlapping mission of art-led ecological exploration.
• Serpentine Galleries: Major London contemporary art institution that has increasingly centered ecological programming and sustainability initiatives; broader than COAL but a meaningful comparator for art-and-ecology commissioning.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/transformative_territories
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/coal-fr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 COAL