BMW Group France is launching the call for applications for the fourth edition of BMW ART MAKERS. Patronage programme dedicated to contemporary creation and images.

• Each year, the BMW ART MAKERS programme selects an artist-curator duo and supports them in the realisation of an artistic creation project and its implementation in space.
• The prize comprises a grant of €10,000 for the artist and €8,000 for the curator, plus a research and production budget of €15,000.
• The call for entries is open until December 4th, 2024.
• The jury will announce the winning duo on December 20th, 2024.

Paris/Munich. For over 50 years now, the BMW Group has been engaged in hundreds of cultural cooperations worldwide. The main focus of its long-term commitment is on contemporary art, music and film as well as design. In all the cultural activities the company is involved in, the BMW Group guarantees absolute creative freedom, which is essential for both artists and BMW. It enables artists to produce unique works and others to develop groundbreaking innovations for more sustainable and responsible mobility. 

Support is at the heart of the company's approach. As a patron of the arts, the BMW Group closely follows artists in their creative process, respects their freedom of expression, encourages them to dare and provides them with the material and financial resources they need to realise their projects.

Through the BMW ART MAKERS programme, the company aims to address societal issues as part of its cultural commitments.

Artistic projects must:

• Propose a scenography that considers its entire life cycle;
• Demonstrate consideration in the use of resources;
• Question or provide an artistic perspective on current social issues.

Research and experimentation are only the starting point of the artistic project. Once completed, BMW Group France will promote the project through international events in the art world, such as the Rencontres d'Arles and Paris Photo*.

BMW ART MAKERS: a support programme dedicated to the experimental & visual art of all possibilities.
“Given the volatility of the world we live in, creative work needs the long-term support of committed patrons. This is why we have created the BMW ART MAKERS programme, to offer an opportunity to innovative talents in the world of images. This programme invites artists to take an alternative look at our environment and the major challenges facing society. A free view, through experimentation and the realisation of a visual and multifaceted artistic project. In this way, BMW Group France intends to enable artists to explore new perspectives in a spirit of openness and innovation.” Vincent Salimon, CEO of BMW Group France

The BMW ART MAKERS programme supports projects based on the contemporary image, exploring all its dimensions and forms (photography, film, video, digital and virtual images), the choice and research of media, reproduction techniques and distribution networks.

BMW ART MAKERS: a grant and production budget for an artist-curator duo who have chosen to work on a joint artistic project.
Two heads are better than one. As part of its call for projects, BMW ART MAKERS brings together and supports an emerging visual artist and a curator, who must apply together. The strength of this partnership lies in the trust and emulation required to bring a large-scale project to fruition, from the first thought to the final work. Like the artist, the curator represents a fundamental element in the implementation of the artistic project, as well as in its actual, concrete realisation.

This is the first time that a programme of this scale has enabled a curator to receive a grant to work alongside an artist on a visual arts project. The curator acts as artistic director, scenographer, or designer, and is responsible for ensuring that the project is carried out in accordance with the artistic parameters, deadline and budget requirements set out in the call for applications

BMW ART MAKERS: unique accompanying by the members of the jury.
And because great ideas need to be well supported to come to fruition, the members of the jury who select the projects also act as mentors during the creative process. BMW Group France would like to extend its warmest thanks to these renowned figures from the world of art for accepting this role and helping to raise the project and the work to the highest level.

The BMW ART MAKERS 2025 jury is made up of leading figures from the art world:

• Andreina De Bei,  Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Sciences et Avenir
• Christoph Wiesner, Director of Rencontres d'Arles
• Florence Bourgeois, Director of Paris Photo
• Hervé Digne, President of POUSH Manifest
• Maryse Bataillard, Head of Corporate Communications and CSR, BMW Group France

BMW ART MAKERS: financial and material support.
Because great ideas need to be financed and realised, BMW Group France is offering:

• A €10,000 grant to the artist.
• A grant of €8,000 to the curator.
• A budget of €15,000 for the research and production of the works.
• A solo exhibition included in the programme of prestigious events such as Paris Photo and Les Rencontres d'Arles*.
• Mentoring by members of the jury.
• Communications support.

BMW ART MAKERS: To think, to create and above all... to make exist. 
Research and experimentation are only the starting point of the artistic project. Once completed, BMW Group France will promote the project through events with international resonance in the art world, such as the Rencontres d'Arles and Paris Photo*.

To respond to the call for applications.
Candidates can apply until December 4th, 2024  (23:59 CET) on the dedicated platform.
Find out more on the BMW Group France Instagram account.
Download the BMW ART MAKERS rules by clicking here.

PLEASE NOTE: Incomplete applications will not be examined by the jury.
The nominated duos will be contacted in mid-December to present their project to the jury, and the winning duo will be announced on December 20th, 2024.