Foundation Les Arts Florissants – William Christie : a new adventure has just begun!

On January 29, 2018, the first board meeting of the Fondation Les Arts Florissants – William Christie was held to formalize the creation of this new legal entity. The Foundation was officially enacted by government decree on November 24, 2017 with “public utility” status under French law. Its mission is to perpetuate the work of Les Arts Florissants in the fields of baroque music and the art of gardens artistically, pedagogically and with respect to heritage.

The Foundation is unique in the French cultural landscape, uniting as it does an international musical ensemble with a heritage site (William Christie’s Thiré estate, in the Vendée, which became a “Centre Culturel de Rencontre” in 2017). It is also the only organization of its type to enjoy the status of a foundation under French law. This new legal entity will take over all the activities of Les Arts Florissants, not only artistically and pedagogically, but also with respect to the preservation and management of the Foundation’s material and immaterial heritage — the buildings and gardens in Thiré as well as the recordings and publications of Les Arts Florissants. The granting of “public-utility” foundation status by the government is, moreover, an active vote of confidence on the part of the French state. Far more than a simple change in administrative status, the Foundation is a new adventure to ensure the long-term, coherent continuation of William Christie and Les Arts Florissants’ work.

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