Understanding Corporate Sponsorship and Contemporary Art at the Fondation Groupe EDF
Our second-year Bachelor in Arts Management students recently visited the Fondation Groupe EDF in Paris, accompanied by their professor Christophe Billard. The purpose of the visit was to deepen their understanding of corporate sponsorship, scenography, curatorial practice, and cultural mediation, as part of their professional training in contemporary art.
Laurence Bobant-Guillot and her mediation team warmly welcomed the group and offered a guided tour of the current exhibition, detailing both its content and its design. Their explanations enriched the students' understanding of how cultural mediation can foster meaningful visitor experiences.
Fondation Groupe EDF
Located in the heart of Paris’s 7th arrondissement, the Fondation Groupe EDF is the corporate foundation of the Électricité de France (EDF) group. Created in 1987, it supports public-interest initiatives in the fields of culture, education, inclusion, and environmental awareness.
Its art space, housed in a historic former electrical substation, regularly hosts exhibitions exploring the links between art, science, society, and innovation.
The Foundation is committed to making contemporary art accessible to as many people as possible, with a strong emphasis on mediation and arts education. This mission fits fully with the themes addressed during the visit.
"What the Horizon Promises": A Multifaceted Exhibition
The visit focused on the current exhibition What the Horizon Promises, designed by curators Nathalie Bazoche and Samantha Barroero, in collaboration with sociologist Gérald Bronner. On view from March 12 to September 28, 2025, it brings together 27 contemporary artists and examines our complex relationship with the future, between belief and rationality, uncertainty and the desire for control.
Through a wide diversity of works, the exhibition invites visitors to reflect on how we project ourselves into a future that is inherently uncertain. It explores the tools, beliefs, and disciplines we use to try to anticipate what awaits us: consulting horoscopes, trusting predictive algorithms, weighing a career change or a new diet. These behaviors reflect our constant desire to reduce uncertainty and better control what is coming.
The exhibition’s scenography offers a journey through artistic interpretations that highlight our collective hopes and anxieties in the face of the unknown. The horizon, depicted as a moving line, symbolizes both the elusive nature of the future and the promises it holds.
Meeting Artist Christine Rebet
One of the highlights of the visit was meeting artist Christine Rebet, an exhibitor in the show. The students were able to talk with her about her career and creative process, in particular around her work Black Cabinet, presented in the exhibition.
This discussion offered valuable insight into how contemporary artists pursue an international career while addressing historical, psychological, and political themes. In addition to Christine Rebet’s work, the students discovered works by renowned artists such as Philippe Ramette and Evariste Richer, among others.
These works served as starting points for discussions about artistic intent, audience interpretation, and the role of institutions such as the Fondation EDF in spreading contemporary art through inclusive and thoughtful programming.
