History of a contemporary heritage
Diverse and unique collections
The 35,000 artworks acquired by the twenty-two Frac are part of an ambitious and selective approach to the most innovative artistic proposals, produced mainly since the 1960s by artists from five continents.
Within these twenty-two entities, as many different approaches to contemporary art are expressed through the acquisition policies defined by each director as part of his or her artistic and cultural project. To help them define this policy and select the artworks they wish to acquire, they are supported by a technical acquisitions committee whose volunteer members, from France and abroad, include art critics, museum curators, art centre directors, exhibition commissioners, artists, public figures and private collectors.
Attentive to emerging artistic creations, the collections present more or less strong dominants and singularities, structuring ensembles made up of 500 to 4,000 works: paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, videos, installations, architectural models, etc.
Half of the authors are French artists and 33% are women.
Purchasing artworks from artists and galleries is the main way in which the collections are enriched. These are made possible by annual grants from the State and the Regions, sometimes supplemented by grants from other local authorities or patrons.
Many Frac also commission or produce artworks, in particular for solo or group exhibitions, residencies, or by involving an artist in a distribution, publishing or outreach project. Artists and generous collectors also contribute through donations to enrich the collections.
As a result, each French region has one or more outstanding collections of contemporary art, which contribute to its national and international reputation through the organisation of exhibitions and loans to numerous French and foreign institutions.
Videomuseum, partner in collections management
Since their creation, the twenty-two Frac have developed a major management and documentation programme, particularly in terms of digitalization, for their collections.
A management and consultation tool designed by the Vidéomuseum association (Paris) brings together all the artworks acquired since their creation by the French public collections (including the Frac) and makes accessible the fruit of the meticulous documentation and cataloguing work they have undergone.
What type of artworks are in the Frac collections?
Distribution of artworks by type for all the Frac
