Call for application

Please note: film productions, live shows and performances are not eligible.

Applicants may submit one of the following to the competition:

either a project for installations and sculptures. A maximum of €50,000 in production assistance is available, to be divided among the various projects according to the artists’ needs and the jury’s decisions. Applications must include a detailed budget of production costs with estimates for materials, audiovisual equipment, contractors/craftsmen, delivery costs (transport if specific, customs, crane, etc.) and transport costs for monitoring the project’s progress. The Foundation does not fund research and creative residencies. Artists’ fees are included in the €15,000 grant and do not need to be included in the budget. The production assistance budget must not exceed €50,000 per project.

either an existing work, and this applies to all other art forms (drawing, painting, textiles, photography, video, sculpture, installation) In this case, only a work that has already been created may be submitted. No additional production budget may be allocated for paintings, drawings, photographs or videos. The work submitted, which may consist of a series or a single piece, must be a unique copy.

For video or photography, ideally the work should also be a single edition, but if it comprises editions or multiple copies, the François Schneider Foundation reserves the right to reduce the amount of the grant to €8,000. The applicant undertakes to inform the Foundation of the exact number of existing prints or copies. A series or different modules may comprise a single work.

4 to 7 winning artists are awarded annually for their project or work.

The call for entries takes place in the autumn of each year.

The 15th edition of the competition will run from : 

• September 15 to November 23, 2025

Eligibilities

• Proof of a professional artistic activity and/or being a graduate of an art school. 
• Have a solid artistic background : work recently exhibited in institutions, galleries, festivals, etc. or have participated in an artistic residency.

A maximum of 7 “Contemporary Talents” prize-winners will be chosen from amongst the candidates, each of whom will receive €15,000 for the acquisition of their work. The endowment also includes:

• A collective exhibition at the Foundation’s Contemporary Art Centre
• A bilingual publication presenting the prize-winners’ work
• The inclusion of the work in the Foundation’s collection
• A video portrait of each of the laureates.

Artists are invited to submit proposals offering a distinctive and sensitive perspective on the theme of water, whether realistic or utopian, figurative or abstract.

Selection of works and projects

Artists are invited to submit proposals offering a distinctive and sensitive perspective on the theme of water, whether realistic or utopian, figurative or abstract.

Four Expert Committees and an International Grand Jury International will meet in succession:

The expert committees
Each committee is made up of two art and culture professionals. Their mission is to identify around thirty submissions out of all the works or projects received to be presented to the International Grand Jury.

The international grand jury
The jury, chaired by Jean-Noël Jeanneney, will choose the 4 to 7 “Contemporary Talents” prize-winners whose works will be acquired by the Foundation.

• Jean-Noël Jeanneney, former President of “Radio France”, former Secretary of State and former President of the “Bibliothèque Nationale de France” – Paris (France)
• Rosa Maria Malet, Director of the Joan Miró Foundation 1980-2017, member of the Board of Directors – Barcelona (Spain)
• Constance de Monbrison, Head of Insulinde collections, musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac – Paris (France)
• Alfred Pacquement, Honorary General Curator of Heritage – Paris (France)
• Ernest Pignon-Ernest, Artist, Paris (France)
• Roland Wetzel, Director of the Museum Tinguely – Basel (Switzerland)

NB: The expert committees and the grand jury are subject to change depending on availability.

Applications must be written in French by French-speaking candidates, or in English by other candidates.

These files must include:

Administrative part

• Registration form and signed regulations read and approved (PDF format)
• Copy of your identity document (front / back identity card or passport) (PDF format)

Artistic part (work carried out or project to be produced, sculpture or installation)

• Your curriculum vitae and / or presentation of the collective of artists, justifying an artistic background (work recently exhibited in institutions, galleries, festivals, etc. or having participated in one or more artistic residencies) (PDF format, 2 pages maximum).
• Your portfolio / artistic presentation of your work (PDF format, 20 A4 pages maximum, 20 MB maximum)
• A note of intent presenting the work or project and the artist’s approach for the competition, intellectual and creative approach (PDF format, 2 pages maximum) as well as a short presentation of the work (maximum 1,100 characters with spaces).
• A precise technical description of the existing work or project (sculptures, installations), title, materials, technique, dimensions, weight, constraints and technical means required for the exhibition, assembly or transport of the work (PDF format, 1 page maximum).
• A detailed production budget of up to € 50,000 for works presented in the form of projects for sculptures and installations (PDF format).
• 3 to 5 color visuals (photo, drawing, diagram, modeling, plan, etc.) (JPG format, 5 MB maximum per visual).
• Video extract for the video works. It is possible to attach a video capture for the other works (painting, sculpture, etc.) in order to contextualize it (format MOV/MP4, 4 GB maximum).

IMPORTANT: The works presented must not under any circumstances be conceived with a view to being permanently installed at the Foundation.

Download the call for applications.
Download the regulations.