• Artists in the Community

    Amplifying artists’ voices
Danse élargie
Through its Artists in the Community programme, the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès seeks to ensure that the talents of tomorrow can pursue artistic careers and flourish in their chosen fields. Artists in the Community promotes the transmission of skills through professional training with a range of support for existing initiatives as well as a specific bursary programme designed to help students in financial difficulty to train for careers in the performing arts.
mc 93
Theatre workshop, Égalité des chances programme, éstba, Bordeaux (France) © Pierre Planchenault

Putting in place the means for both amateurs and future professionals to perfect their practices and skills means facing up to the challenges of contemporary society. This commitment to promoting broad access to performing arts education and training has led the Foundation to support the Maré Free Dance School in the heart of Rio de Janeiro’s Maré favela since its opening in 2011, as well as the Rencontres Chorégraphiques Internationales in Seine-Saint-Denis, north of Paris, since 2010.

In 2016, the Foundation partnered with the Prépa Théâtre 93 programme led by the MC93 in Bobigny, an equal-opportunities programme that prepares students for entrance exams to national theatre schools.

In 2019, the Foundation is extending its action in partnership with nineteen schools specialising in dance, theatre and circus through a set of bursaries that allow eligible students to fully dedicate themselves to the demanding training they are passionate about. Students’ applications are submitted on the Foundation’s website before being examined by a selection committee. The bursaries are designed to meet the real needs of each student, taking into account their individual resources, and are awarded for a maximum of three years.

Camping
Dance class during "Camping" 2018 © Antoine Cormier

The Foundation looks to accompany emerging artists, not only by giving them the tools to enter professional artistic circuits but also by helping them to find their place in society. To this end, the Foundation has supported the Centre National de la Danse and its “Camping” festival, the “Danse élargie” competition created jointly by the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris and the Musée de la Danse in Rennes, and “Prototype” and “Dialogue”, two choreographic research and creation programmes by the Fondation Royaumont.

Whether they are organised around the sites that inspire them or amongst groups of like-minded individuals – amateurs or professionals – the Foundation supports artists’ projects that foreground and amplify citizens’ voices. As part of this commitment, in 2019 the Foundation began supporting choreographer Régine Chopinot’s project deuxzérodeuxun, which is being hosted by MC93 until 2021. This long-term creative residency is firmly anchored in the local community, and punctuated by talks and performances sharing the project’s ongoing development with the public prior to a presentation of the final choreographic work.

Through the Artists in the Community programme, the Foundation reaffirms its support for the performing arts, as well as its presence alongside amateurs and professionals at all career stages reaching out to society as a whole.

Supported projects

See also