Arles has established itself as an important summer destination for art lovers visiting the South of France. What makes it an unavoidable stop is not only the annual Les Rencontres d’Arles, one of the most important international photography festivals in the world, but also the growing number of foundations and centers that have opened in the city in recent years. While the Fondation Vincent van Gogh has long anchored Arles’ contemporary art, bringing international artists into dialogue with the French master, the arrival of Maja Hoffmann’s LUMA Foundation in 2013 expanded the city’s offerings to include new media art, with prestigious exhibitions and installations taking place inside every parking lot like Tower Gehry. In 2022, the South Korean artist Lee Ufan also opened his foundation in the Hôtel Vernon, a historic mansion in the center of Arles.
This summer, another foundation promotes Arles’ rapidly growing art scene, as the famous French artist Jean-Marc Bustamante opens the Fonds Bustamante in the 12th century Église Sainte-Croix in the city center, recently renovated to serve as an exhibition space and cultural center under the direction of architect Charles Zana.
At the core of its program are three main objectives. The first is to preserve Bustamante’s multidisciplinary body, library and archives by bringing them together under one roof and making them accessible to the wider public. Bustamante, however, did not want to build a mausoleum for his work. Instead, he envisioned a space open to other artists, advancing creative practices across all disciplines and media, highlighting untold stories and reinterpreting historical narratives. The foundation will also mark the culmination of his 30-year commitment to education, serving as a year-round cultural and educational center with a series of master classes, conferences and symposia involving artists, academics and the public.
“As a musician, I saw this as a good opportunity because I am an artist, but I also like to organize shows,” Bustamante told the Observer before the opening. “Because of the current state of the world, it is important that artists find ways to support each other, there are many artists from different countries, it is important that there is communication between them.
For Bustamante, the project stems naturally from his shared history as artist, teacher and exhibition organizer. He has been a leading presence on the French and international art scene since the 1970s, with a multifaceted practice that includes photography, sculpture and painting. He represented France at the São Paulo Biennial in 1994 and the Venice Biennale in 2003, and participated in three Documenta programs in Kassel, in 1987, 1992 and 1997. He has also exhibited in major institutions around the world, including the Yokohama Museum of Art in Japan, the Van Abbeven de Museum of Modern Vielle and the Museum of Elene of Elene of Elene of Elene of Vin. from Paris. There is a retrospective of his work planned at the Ludwig Museum Koblenz in November 2026.
Bustamante is represented by Thaddaeus Ropac, Galerie Bärbel Grässlin, Galerie Vera Munro and Galleri Susanne Ottesen. After directing the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris from 2015 to 2018 and he worked as the artistic director of the Toulouse International Art Festival and the Printemps de Septembre festival from 2004 to 2006 and from 2012 to 2014 as the basis of his work as his last place, where he just saw his last place. artists from different countries and generations can meet, show and exchange ideas.
“It’s not a complete self-discovery trip,” he said, stressing that the foundation was never intended as a closed-off monument or posthumous exercise but as a way to prepare for the future. In an art world where galleries represent a growing list, he believes that artists should play an active role in protecting and organizing their work. “We have a group of friends, we found this place and thought of something independent and independent, where we can present the art we like in relation to my work.” She compares her work to a fourth child next to her three daughters: something that needs to be cared for in order to survive.
Arles was an important decision for Bustamante. His first work was based on photography, which he studied in Provence. He was also among the first artists to participate in the Rencontres d’Arles, at a time when the medium was still struggling to gain full recognition as an art form. In recent years, the city has developed into a dense cultural center with the continuous growth of the photography festival, the arrival of LUMA Arles and the emergence of the successful painting festival associated with Vera Michalski. “It created something similar to the Bilbao effect associated with Frank Gehry,” asserts Bustamante. In this unusual context, he decided to open a center that will not only work during the summer but all year round. “We want to establish a real multi-functional foundation that connects the city and the region, expanding the city’s international cultural reach.”
This building connects with the city’s history and space, preserving different layers of its past. Consecrated during the French Revolution, the Église Sainte-Croix gradually lost its architectural harmony and spatial flow in a succession of reforms. Zana’s project restored its balance by drawing on the collective memory of the generations living in the building. The renovation revived traditional techniques, including limewash, terrazzo flooring and the use of Arles stone, while introducing shades of beige, yellow and pink that echo the Camargue landscape.
The facade is decorated with a frieze by Bustamante himself, made of distinctive yellow tiles made of glazed clay and produced in Salernes by a family of professional ceramicists working in the 1880s. Bright yellow tones are meant to pay homage to Van Gogh’s iconic palette. Bustamante also invited the world-renowned artist Cristina Iglesias to create a sculpture in aluminum and glass: more than four meters high on the double-height walls of the first floor, it continues the dialogue between art, architecture and the rich cultural heritage of Arles.
The board of directors and the scientific committee include leading figures from the French and international art worlds: Camille Morineau, founder and director of AWARE (Archives of Women Artists, Research and Exhibitions); Olivier Gabet, director of the Department of Decorative Arts at the Musée du Louvre; Katia Baudin, director of the Kunstmuseen Krefeld; Éric de Chassey, director of the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris; Jean-Pierre Criqui, curator of contemporary art at the Center Pompidou; Penelope Curtis, art historian and former director of Tate Britain; and Thierry Leviez, director of the Pavillon Bosio, École Supérieure d’Arts Plastiques of Monaco.
For the first exhibition, Bustamante deliberately refused a solo presentation and instead invited artists from different generations who have played an important role during his life and career, especially figures connected to the artistic networks he developed in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. “This exhibition is conceived as a clash between different generations and between organizations that I have participated in throughout my life: movements, exhibitions, ideas and certain ways of thinking about what art is today,” he explained.
Until October 30, “En Miroirs” includes artists who represent the end of the avant-garde movement until today, including Cristina Iglesias, Alice Anderson, Gerhard Merz, Rémy Zaugg, Rodney Graham, Reinhard Mucha, Jan Vercruysse, Franz West, Thomas Schütte, Michael Buthe, René Da Simonië. “We decided to combine disciplines—painting, photography, video and sound,” added Bustamante. “I want to open up space for my preferences and my tastes, the idea of what art means to me today.”
One of his concerns is that Arles remains largely associated with photography, and that his photographic audience does not always have the same relationship with contemporary art. “It’s a different community, somehow wider and more popular,” he said, pointing to the success of the ongoing painting festival in the city. “Painting and photography speak directly to people today, perhaps because their tools seem simple or familiar.”
Fonds Bustamante Arles is supported by a circle of friends and colleagues, but the artist admitted that he still needs a limited working model. Renting an event property can be part of that strategy. They’ll have to see how the audience reacts, Bustamante said, but he expects to attract a large and diverse community, and the show will be developed with that diversity in mind. You also see the seasonal intensity of the city: attracting tourists in the summer is one thing, but the biggest challenge will be to build a local and regional community that returns year-round.
Most important to him is to prevent the foundation from becoming a place people visit once and then forget. Its success, he said, will depend on keeping the venue operational and continuing to produce shows, meetings and programs that give audiences a reason to return. “It’s important that the place stays clear and functional, and continues to produce things that people want to encounter.”
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