Agency Of Artists In Exile

Name

Agency Of Artists In Exile

Legal name

Atelier des artistes en exil

Website

https://aa-e.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Arts Support Services

NAICS

Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (71141), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (711510), Other Performing Arts Companies (711190)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts Education & Community Arts Programs (BPAGAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Art, Arts Councils & Grantmaking Programs (BPAGAHAH), Performing Arts Organizations (Theater, Dance, Opera, Music) (BPAGAHAB)

Keywords

• Artist support services
• Exiled artist programs
• Arts nonprofit services
• French language courses
• Refugee artist assistance

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and patronage: Financial donations from individuals and corporations. Tax deductible at 66% for individuals and 60% for companies under French law. Fundraising campaign targeting €110,000 for fit-out works of new Paris premises.
2. Art sales (online gallery / e-shop): Sale of artworks created by member artists — paintings, prints, photographs, sculptures, and music — through the aa-e online gallery. Prices range from €12 to €3,000 per work. The organization facilitates transactions between artists and buyers.
3. Membership fees: Digital membership cards issued starting 2025, granting access to partner cultural institutions and aa-e resources. Membership fees fund operational costs.
4. In-kind and skills donations: Donations in kind (equipment, materials), loan of labor, and professional services, also tax-deductible. Used to furnish and equip the new premises.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Agency of Artists in Exile (aa-e) is a French nonprofit association that provides free workspace, equipment, French language courses, legal/social accompaniment, and multidisciplinary artistic programming to artists who have fled persecution. The organization also operates an online gallery selling artworks created by its member artists, and produces public cultural events such as cinema club screenings and literary readings.

Product overview

The Agency Of Artists In Exile (aa-e) is a non-profit organization (association loi 1901) providing comprehensive support services for exiled artists in France. The organization offers a portfolio of interconnected services including French language courses taught through art practice, dedicated atelier workspaces and studios, a cinema club for screenings and discussions, an online gallery for selling artworks, digital membership cards, and educational tools like the Welcome Cards for art schools. The In Ex(ile) Lab European project has developed methodology and resources for cultural organizations working with exiled artists.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 320 donors contributed €27,137 toward a €110,000 fundraising goal for new Paris headquarters (campaign open until June 30, 2025)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered notable, core and flagship.

• Light ConenotableStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 January 2025Film distribution partner for the Enharmonique project by Kaveh Kavoosi. Light Cone, a film distribution organization, co-presented the full screening of the 6-chapter Enharmonique project at the aa-e cinema club. Partnership demonstrates aa-e's commitment to bringing experimental cinema to wider audiences.
• CatawikinotableGTM or Marketing Partner · 14 March 2024Solidarity auction partnership: Catawiki hosted an online auction of contemporary artworks by 25 aa-e member artists in March 2025. Curated by Tatiana Ruiz and directed by Catawiki's director Cyrille Coiffet. The auction provided artists with income and visibility while positioning Catawiki as a platform supporting displaced artists.
• PUZLP – Artistes en exil dans les écoles d'art (Belgian and French art school network)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2022Transnational project uniting ESA Saint-Luc Bruxelles, ERG (Belgium), ANdÉA (France), and aa-e, supported by Erasmus+. Developed the 'Welcome Cards' (Cartes d'accueil) — a card-based onboarding tool for art schools hosting exiled artists. First prototype residency at ESAAA Annecy, adapted from the Collège de France Pause programme.
• In Ex(ile) Lab consortium (9 cultural structures: France, Italy, Cyprus, Portugal)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2022Co-funded by Creative Europe. The 9 partner structures tested transdisciplinary pathways for artists in exile. Outputs: catalogue presenting artists and performances; toolkit for cultural organizations wanting to work with exiled artists. Full content at inexilelab.eu.
• Collège de France – Pause ProgrammecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2021The Pause programme ( Collège de France) provides artistic residencies for exiled artists. AA-E adapted the Pause model for artists in exile. Artist Abdul Saboor has been in residence at Institut supérieur des arts de Toulouse since September 2021 under this programme.
• Wilde Art Venue (Paris)notableStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost venue for the aa-e Christmas Market creative market, December 2024. Wilde (4-8 rue François Miron, 75004) provided space for a 5-day event featuring 50+ aa-e artists with performances, artworks, and creative objects for sale.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves2 records

Broad incumbents

• Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity: Canadian multi-disciplinary residency and arts education institution offering studios, programming, and institutional partnerships — comparable to aa-e in providing an integrated residency-plus-programming model, though at significantly larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• Pro Helvetia: Swiss Arts Council funding Swiss and international artist residencies and exchanges — a comparable institutional funder and residency funder in the same peer ecosystem, though operating at national scale and across a broader artistic mandate.
• European Cultural Foundation: Amsterdam-based pan-European cultural foundation funding cross-border cultural cooperation and artist mobility — comparable as a broader institutional funder and network builder in the same ecosystem aa-e operates in via Creative Europe grants.

Direct peers

• Counterpoints Arts: UK-based non-profit supporting and producing arts projects by refugees and migrants — closely aligned with aa-e's mission in serving displaced artists, advocating for their visibility, and building institutional partnerships across cultural sectors.
• Cité internationale des arts: Paris-based residency organisation that hosts international and emerging artists across visual arts, music, and performance — the closest direct geographic peer for aa-e's Paris residency and studio mission, with comparable scale and institutional partnerships.
• Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten: Amsterdam-based two-year residency programme for international artists offering studio space, production budget, and technical support — directly comparable to aa-e's atelier/workspaces offering, with a similar artist-lifecycle support model.
• Akademie Schloss Solitude: Stuttgart-based international residency offering studios and stipends to artists across disciplines — a directly comparable peer to aa-e's atelier programme in residency structure, multi-disciplinary focus, and European institutional positioning.
• Triangle Network: International network of artist residencies and exchange programmes supporting emerging and displaced practitioners — directly comparable to aa-e's In Ex(ile) Lab model in offering cross-border mobility and production support for artists.
• Asylum Arts: US-based non-profit dedicated to connecting artists in exile with cultural and educational institutions — a near-perfect mission peer to aa-e, focused on the same displaced-artist cohort with a similar hub-and-institution intermediary model.
• Free Word Centre: London venue and charitable organisation supporting writers, artists, and thinkers facing persecution — a directly comparable peer to aa-e in offering a physical hub plus programming for at-risk literary and artistic voices.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/thoe_htein
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/l-atelier-des-artistes-en-exil

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 Agency Of Artists In Exile