Frac Champagne-Ardenne

Since 1984, the collection of the Frac Champagne-Ardenne has forged a clear identity around major mutually reinforced themes: art and life; art and encounters;  art and celebration; art and play. It is an open, forward-looking collection, consisting of over 800 works that reflect the great diversity of contemporary practices; over the years it has gained considerable value in terms of cultural heritage.

Since its inception, the Frac Champagne-Ardenne has been based in the former Jesuit College in Reims, where numerous exhibitions are held each year. Solo exhibitions and thematic group offerings alternate with events devoted to emerging creative practice, namely  the initiatives ‘Plein Jeu’ and ‘Video Club’.

The Frac’s collection is shown all year round  at different venues throughout the Grand Est administrative region of north-eastern France and beyond, through exhibitions and visitor services for enhanced artwork encounters, designed in conjunction with the sites hosting each project. In 2017, French industrial designer matali crasset created for the Frac the ‘Tripod’, a mobile device using digital resources to engage young visitors, and the ‘Capsule’, a movable space for exhibiting artworks in unusual locations.

Together with the other two Frac structures in the Grand Est region – the 49 Nord 6 Est – Frac Lorraine and the Frac Alsace – the Frac Champagne-Ardenne forms a network seeking to extend the dissemination of their collections and establish artistic and educational partnerships across the Grand Est area.

After a Master’s degree in “Métiers de la Culture” (University of Lille) and a Master’s degree in curating at Goldsmith College (University of London), Bérénice Saliou co-founded and directed the TRANKAT artists’ residency in Tétouan (Morocco), and was simultaneously in charge of international projects at FRAEME, at the Friche de la Belle de Mai. She then became artistic director of the Institut des cultures d’Islam, a cultural establishment of the City of Paris, where she defined a policy of support for creation and designed and managed a multi-disciplinary program.

Since 2022, Bérénice Saliou has been Director of Documents d’artistes La Réunion, a platform for the visibility and support of visual artists from Reunion Island, working to develop the island’s art scene. She also teaches at the École nationale supérieure d’architecture de La Réunion and is an independent curator.

Bérénice Saliou’s project offers excellent prospects for the FRAC Champagne-Ardenne in terms of artistic programming, cooperation and the mobility of the collection across the country. Particular attention will be paid to audiences and to both emerging and more established artists.