The Pernod Ricard Corporate Foundation will open its new central Paris premises on 6 February 2021

A new venue, a new ambition, new artistic encounters ' the Pernod Ricard Foundation, open to the city and to the world, will be as committed as ever to supporting the young contemporary French scene and 'to making it as widely accessible as possible

The Pernod Ricard Corporate Foundation, successor to the Ricard Foundation created 22 years ago to support the young contemporary French scene, will open its doors to the public on Saturday 6 February 2021.

This new multidisciplinary venue, whose development was entrusted to the firm NeM / Niney & Marca Architectes, is located at 1 Cours Paul Ricard at the forefront of the new global headquarters of the eponymous Group, right in the heart of the French capital and the Saint Lazare district. It boasts a main exhibition space of 300m2, as well as a 130 seat auditorium and a modular lobby that can accommodate performances or one-off installations. 'Café Mirette will provide a warm and welcoming meeting place for all art lovers. The space will open onto a large terrace accessible to the public, the Paul Ricard courtyard.

The Ricard Foundation became the Pernod Ricard Foundation on 1 July 2020, and is the successor to the patronage of contemporary art developed by the Ricard company for more than twenty years. It is now beginning a new chapter in its history and adopting an international outlook. The Foundation will operate as a platform serving and in direct contact with artists, in order to showcase the emerging scene, in Paris and beyond, in particular by making greater use of the resources offered by a global group with 86 subsidiaries. 

Since opening in Paris in 1998, the Foundation has featured more than 1,000 artists invited by 250 curators as part of 150 exhibitions. Not having its own collection, its identity is shaped by those who bring it to life on a daily basis ' artists, curators, authors, intellectuals, etc., thereby reflecting the diversity of creation and pulsating to the rhythm of its many forms. In this new setting, the Pernod Ricard Foundation will roll out what is, according to its Director Colette Barbier, a 'pioneering and audacious' programme of solo and group exhibitions and will offer series of encounters dedicated to artistic performance, poetry and debates on social issues. Open to the city and its neighbourhood, the Foundation will retain its human scale, promoting encounters and interaction, and will continue to be, as it always has been, accessible to all free of charge. 

Finally, we also deliberately wanted to place this project within the Group's new global headquarters in order to make contemporary art part of the daily lives of the 900 employees who work at The Island, as well as the 3,000 colleagues from around the world who visit us every year. In the future, employees will be working in direct contact with the artists and their creations ' a permanent source of mutual enrichment and inspiration.

Alexandre Ricard, Chairman & CEO of Pernod Ricard and President of the Foundation, said 'The opening of the Pernod Ricard Corporate Foundation marks a new milestone in our Group's history, a symbol of our enduring commitment to creation and our values of transmission. We are delighted to be able to offer a new artistic venue in Paris, at the heart of the vibrant Saint Lazare district, that will contribute to the dynamism of the capital's cultural scene and to the conviviality that we want to share. I look forward to being able to meet artists, creators and art lovers on a daily basis. They will be a source of inspiration for our 900 employees on-site, and their interaction will be the source of wonderful creations and magnificent encounters.'