Monumenta is only in its fourth edition. And yet, in view of its
success story, Monumenta bears its name. While the 2011 edition is
not yet finished, the records of attendance have now and
already been beaten for about 10 days – and you played a role
essential to this success.
Behind Monumenta 2011 – Anish Kapoor, there are indeed two operations
of private funds that have been particularly successful, one
for the production of the work itself, for which almost 700,000
were raised on the basis of patronage, the other for support to the
event, to the tune of approximately 550,000 euros. So that’s a total
which far exceeds the one million euros that has been provided by the
sponsors at this event. Thanks to you, a very
many saw the red membrane of Anish Kapoor’s Leviathan, which
faced a few years ago at the engine room of the Tate
Modern with its Marsyas, take up the challenge of the space of the Grand Palais. And
We are already thinking, with envy, of next year with Daniel Buren.
These few words of friendship and gratitude are dedicated to you all.
I would specifically like to thank JTI France, Daniel Sciamma, his
and Denis Fichot, as well as his teams, who believed in this project
from the start. I would like to thank the JTI Group, the great patron of the
Louvre and the Manufacture de Sèvres, which, for several years now,
is committed to culture and the arts around the world, and
the work of Anish Kapoor, especially during the
his masterful exhibition at the Royal Academy in London in 2009.
I would also like to thank the PagesJaunes Group and its President
Managing Director Jean-Pierre Rémy, as well as his teams, not
only for their support for this edition of Monumenta, but
also for the magnificent virtual exhibition project on
Urbandive.com that they implemented with the complicity of the artist and
our teams, allowing a distribution to all audiences of the
work of Anish Kapoor in exceptional places of the capital, following
a route that leads to the Nave du Grand Palais.
I thank the G7 Group and its Chairman and CEO Nicolas
Rousselet, as well as the G7 Taxis and their CEO
Serge Metz, who, by supporting this project, wanted to affirm the importance
and support its accessibility to a wide audience.
I warmly thank the bank Neuflize OBC and the group
LVMH / Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton, great patrons of culture – I
think for example of the Louis-Vuitton Foundation for Creation - and all
two historical and faithful patrons of Monumenta, each year since
its origin, which has never failed in manifestation and its values.
Neuflize OBC and LVMH/ Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton thus affirm a
their positions as major patrons of the visual arts in
France and for accessibility to the best of culture.
I would also like to especially thank the industrial group
Serge Ferrari, its President Sébastien Ferrari, its Managing Director
Romain Ferrari and Françoise Fournier, who accompany Anish Kapoor
in the production and technical monitoring of his works since 2002.
I would like to thank the Boston Consulting Group for their involvement,
their analytical work and their strength in proposing
Monumenta brand strategy and its derivatives.
I would like to thank the EDF Diversiterre Foundation for its support of the reception and
support for people with visual disabilities, who have
pilot project led by my department, whose
the objective is to make the visit independent for the visually impaired
and visually impaired through several devices, including
design of dedicated Braille tools and supports, and extension
website of MONUMENTA, in accordance with the
International recommendations for web content accessibility.
I thank Edenred, its CEO Jacques Stern and
their teams, for choosing to support and celebrate an adventure
human and artistic exceptional open to all.
I also thank our dear friends from the British Council, who have
actively contributed to the realization of an accompanying project and
of mediation of prevented and distant audiences for this edition of
Monumenta.
I warmly greet the institutional partners of my
Ministry for the Development of Cultural Philanthropy: the Chambers of
trade and industry, the order of accountants and chambers
notaries who help us greatly to raise awareness among small and
medium-sized enterprises and popular patronage.
Finally, I would like to thank all our media partners: Le Figaro,
Figaroscope, Le Figaro Magazine, Madame Figaro, Radio France with
France Culture and France Info, the Regional Tourism Committee Paris Ilede-
France, Média Transports, UrbanDive.com, France Télévisions et ses
channels France 2, France 3 and France Ô. Your contribution and loyalty are
obviously essential to the success of this magnificent operation.
This wonderful opportunity to meet again tonight gives me the opportunity
the importance of the link between patronage and creation. Among you
of this interaction, without which the
French creative landscape would not be what it is.
I am thinking in particular of Neuflize and its support for the creation
through its superb collection;
I am thinking of Société Générale and its support for classical music
since 1987, the professional integration of young musicians, through its
support for musical training, international competitions and
festivals, for its support of contemporary musical creation, its
support for modern and contemporary art since 1995.
I am obviously thinking of HSBC, which supports exhibitions in
photographs of our largest institutions such as the National Museum
and the National Library of France, and which participates in the
enrichment of public collections, not to mention its Foundation
for photography that helps the new generation
talents.
In this very varied landscape of patronage of creation, I take advantage of
also salute the work of the Ricard Corporate Foundation for its
support for contemporary creation, François Pinault of course for his
investment in Venice, but also the Caisse des Dépôts and
recording and its multiple fields of intervention, from music to
choreography and urban dance; Hermès and his
promotion through its young foundation of craftsmanship, design and
to the performing arts; to the Bettencourt-Schueller Foundation for its
Support in particular for the creation of crafts in Vitra
France for design, at the BNP Paribas Foundation for heritage
that for live entertainment, from jazz to circus, to France Télécom and the
Orange Foundation for its support for collective vocal music, the
Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation, which helps young talent from the press, the
image and cinema, at Crédit Agricole which supports the creation and
festivals through its regional network, in Vranken-Pommery for the creation
Also in Citroën, exclusive patron of the French Pavilion
to the Venice Biennale... To this quick fresco should be added well
heard all the work done by private foundations, those of
individuals who have chosen to make a personal commitment to the
creation, such as the Fondation François Schneider, or the
Claudine and Jean-Marc Salomon, or the Agnès B..
I certainly forget, and I apologize in advance. But
this little list exercise allows us, I think, to measure the magnitude of a
in-depth action by companies, varied in its scope and
in its means of action, at the service of all areas of the
creation. Culture is often referred to as the fourth component of the
sustainable development; some evoke the notion of responsibility
business culture; others evoke the purple economy as one
talks about a green economy… I think that this rising thinking is more
I am thinking in particular of the figure quoted by the Administration,
which mentions a 60% decrease in cultural patronage linked to the crisis:
This figure is also explained by the fact that companies register under the
actions that are just as much a matter of shared culture. However, we
cannot, I believe, oppose the support for creation provided by the
activities in the essential area of the
cultural democratization.
As such, I would like to take this opportunity to discuss, in a way that
Shared Culture Endowment Fund. This is a first
private structure, created by companies but also philanthropists. It
will aim to support more specifically the projects of
cultural democratization, particularly by involving small and
local forms of patronage, established on a
particular territory, without giving exclusive priority to heritage and
events. Sponsorship contributes to the internal cohesion of the
their own culture, the mobilization of their executives. This
symbolic capital issue, it is equally important for small and
the future of corporate philanthropy.
Democratize patronage, build an object at the crossroads of culture and
innovation and experimentation between the public sector and the social sector
will be the avenues to be explored for this future project, for which
I also appeal to individual philanthropy. On this side, I believe
that we are only beginning to see the potential for engagement, if we
in the light of appeals brought by, for example, the
Heritage in many local projects, or
the "All Patrons" operation for the acquisition of the Three Graces of Lucas
Cranach.
I would have kept, you will have guessed, the best for the end: a great
thanks to Marc Vigneau-Desmarest for his catering services
for this beautiful meeting under the vault of the Grand Palais.