Aurélie Filippetti was saddened to learn of the death of Patrick Ricard.
This entrepreneur was also passionate about culture, who, together with his company and the Ricard Foundation, supported contemporary creation and the development of museums by demonstrating exemplary conviction and a sense of ethics.
This support was given in particular to the Centre Pompidou, which was able to benefit during its renovation at the end of the 1990s from a sponsorship that allowed the redevelopment of its terraces. The partnership with the Centre Pompidou also focuses on creation, the winners of the Ricard Prize, created in 1999, being exhibited at the Centre before joining its collections. In 2010, the exhibition The islands reinvented was an opportunity to present all of these works to the public. The patronage sought by Patrick Ricard finally allowed the acquisition by the Centre, in 2003, of a national Treasury, The Head in Depth by Julio Gonzales (1930).
Patrick Ricard also made his company the first patron of the musée du quai Branly. Since the construction of the museum in April 2004, this patronage has supported the construction of its water basins. As at the Centre Pompidou, this patronage also benefited contemporary creation, with the support of the company of Patrick Ricard having enabled the realization of the digital installation of young artist Charles Sandison, entitled "The River", deployed on the entire ramp leading from the museum lobby to the collection stage and based on 10,000-word projections related to arts and civilizations, dialogue of culture and museum architecture.
For these actions, and for many others, Patrick Ricard and his wife Corinne, associated with all these initiatives, deserve the gratitude of the world of culture.