Support Research
with the programme Mission Recherche
Each artwork acquisition is preceded by in-depth research by the curatorial team, making research an essential element of the Amis du Centre Pompidou’s mission to enrich the collections of the Mnam.
In 2019, the Amis launched the Mission Recherche programme that is entirely dedicated to supporting scientific research in art history and enhancing the knowledge of the collection.
Each year, one to three research grants are funded. Young researchers work in tandem with a member of the Museum’s curatorial department on themes of general interest that are related to the national collection. They have privileged access to the archives of the Bibliothèque Kandinsky, one of the largest art archives in the world.
Mission Recherche contributes to the rediscovery of artistic movements, artists' friendships and passions, as well as varying artistic practices, offering us a fresh perspective on the history of art.
By supporting research within Mission Recherche the members enjoy a richly diverse and exclusive programme of cultural visits and excursions in France and abroad. These privileged moments give group members the opportunity to meet with the stakeholders of the modern and contemporary art world for conversations in unique settings.
Donations put towards research projects are 66% tax deductible.
The benefits
As well as additional benefits at the Centre Pompidou
Dedicated research projects
In addition to the Mission Recherche programme, the Amis are developing multi-year research funds that enable the Museum to carry out in-depth research on strategic themes.
In 2021, the visionary collector Bruno Decharme donated almost 1,000 works by 230 artists from his exceptional Art Brut collection to the Musée national d'art moderne. In so doing, the Centre Pompidou's collection became the largest collection of Art Brut in the world.
Often self-taught and marginalized, these artists, despite being major from an art historical point of view, remain little-known to the public. A targeted and priority research effort is underway to re-establish their posterity and expand our knowledge of their art and their narratives.
The Amis are developing specific research grants to help process and archive this historical donation and spread knowledge to wider audiences.
In response to a request from the Photography Department and thanks to the generosity of a patron, the Amis have developed a three-year thematic research project on commissioned photography, particularly in the world of fashion and advertising.
The triennial programme America Latina no oficial aims to re-examine the history and retrace historiography of artistic circulations between France and the Latin American diasporas. Each thematic year is dedicated to the analysis of the overlapping narratives between France and a Latin American country: Brazil, Mexico and Argentina.
The Amis are developing special projects in service to the restoration of major artworks from the national collections, in partnership with philanthropic enterprises that support innovation in service to heritage protection.
In order to actively restore iconic works in the collections containing so-called "rubber" materials, from Richard Serra to Marcel Duchamp, the Amis have developed a multi-year donation and skills-based partnership with the Michelin Foundation that supports the preventive restoration of this type of work.
Sonia Delaunay's simultaneous painting was based on the multiplication of contrasts between primary and secondary colours, creating luminous effects and an intense optical vibration. Discs in prismatic colours dazzle the eye. A cartouche evokes Blaise Cendrars's poem La Prose du Transsibérien.