About Us
The Société des Amis du Musée du Luxembourg (“Society of the Friends of the Luxembourg Museum”), created in 1903, became the Société des Amis du Musée national d’art moderne (“Society of the Friends of the National Museum of Modern Art”) in 1947.
The amis du Centre Pompidou are the first patrons of the Musée National d’Art moderne — Centre Pompidou and for 100 years have conducted major activities of patronage on behalf of the national collections. Its members are invited to participate in the enrichment and dissemination of the collections of one of the most important museums in the world. They benefit from an extensive monthly programming, as well as special opportunities to meet artists and influential figures in the contemporary and modern art world.
The amis du Centre Pompidou offer different membership categories, tailored for every members' desires and involvement.
The amis du Centre Pompidou also develop other sponsorship actions to support the collections of the Musée national d'Art moderne, such as:
- The annual Gala Dinner within the museum's collections
- Twelve acquisition committees, that allow its passionate members to get involved in the life of the Museum, and to participate in the cultural debate and in the selection process of new acquisitions, alongside the Curatorial team.
History
The primary purpose of the Société des Amis du Luxembourg (“Society of the Friends of the Luxembourg Museum”), written into its bylaws, was to “contribute to the enrichment of the Musée du Luxembourg.” By 1905 the Society was already gifting a considerable number of artworks to the Museum and supporting its collecting policy for new acquisitions.
Charles Pacquement, President of the Society from 1924 to 1950, acquired official recognition for the Society as serving public interest. He founded, in parallel, L’Association des amis des artistes vivants (“The Association of Friends of Living Artists”), which supported the creation of contemporary works and organized exhibitions of new acquisitions. This Association was finally folded into the Société des Amis du Luxembourg.
In 1947, the Musée national d’Art moderne (Mnam), combining the collections of the Musée du Luxembourg and those of the Jeu de Paume, was inaugurated. The Société des Amis du Luxembourg thus became the Société des Amis du Musée national d’Art moderne (“Society of the Friends of the National Museum of Modern Art”).
The gifts of the Société des Amis du MNAM joined the new building of the Centre Pompidou, with the exception of works created by artists born before 1870. Those were integrated into the collection of the Musée d’Orsay.
With the support of Dominique Bozo, director of the MNAM, Sylvie Boissonnas began to put together the “Parallel Collection,” which displayed works selected by one or two members every year between 1984 and 1991. Most of this parallel collection eventually joined the collections of the Musée national d’Art moderne.
Under her presidency, objects designed specifically by artists were produced by the association.
The PAC initiative was launched within the larger framework of the Museum’s project to seek out and acquire the most significant works of contemporary art. The members of the committee—which numbered 17 in 2002— along with the Museum Director, Alfred Pacquement, and the curators involved in the project, choose and make well-argued proposals for new acquisitions in order to enrich the museum’s collections. In 2016 the PAC became the Acquisition Group for Contemporary Art (GAAC). It currently consists of about 50 members, art lovers and collectors.
Set up in the Museum’s galleries of modern art, this first edition was organized for the 100th anniversary of the association. The Gala Dinner, conducted in the benefit of the collections, became a yearly tradition in 2006. Since 2017, the amis du Centre Pompidou have entrusted an artist with the event’s artistic direction.
The members of Perspective (Young Patrons Group) choose at the end of every year, under the guidance of a curator, the work or works that will become, thanks to their contributions, a part of the Centre Pompidou collections. Perspective currently counts 150 members.
Jacques Boissonnas launches a movement to open the Association to donors from all over the world, in parallel to the international development of the Centre Pompidou.
In 2015, in close collaboration with the Photography Department, the amis du Centre Pompidou launches the Acquisition Group for Photography, on the occasion of the opening of the Photography Gallery at the Centre Pompidou.
On the occasion of the exhibition Pierre Paulin at the Centre Pompidou, it is decided to open the GAD. The group has as its mission to enrich the Museum’s design collection, and to follow the cross-disciplinary policy of the institution.
On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Centre Pompidou, the amis du Centre Pompidou organized, around the FIAC, You × Art × Centre Pompidou, a unique evening in honor of the donors and patrons of the institution.
which confirms the collaboration between the two structures whose patrons now share the same programs.
Committee in favor of scientific research in art history, its members finance each year from one to five grants allowing a young researcher to accomplish, under the direction of a curator, a mission oriented towards acquisition perspectives, through field studies, the study of archives, interviews or unpublished translations.
