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Submit a work

The deadline for submitting unsolicited applications for the 2026 Technical Procurement Committee is 10 February 2027.

ACQUISITION PRIORITIES 

With over 2,000 works by 812 French and international artists – including matali crasset, Julien Creuzet, Robert Doisneau, Luciano Fabro, Kapwani Kiwanga, Tania Mouraud, Gerhard Richter, Andy Warhol, and also including a donation of 512 drawings by Christine Deknuydt from Dunkirk – the FRAC’s collection is built upon a remarkable foundation of works representing the major contemporary art movements (Minimal Art, Pop Art, Conceptual Art, Arte Povera, Fluxus, gestural painting, etc.).  

The Frac Grand Large — Hauts-de-France holds iconic works of art and design from the 1960s to the present day and continues to acquire works in both these fields. The works take a wide variety of forms: abstract, figurative, minimalist, immaterial, concrete, imaginary or documentary. The issue of geographical boundaries and those between different media is a key focus of the collection, featuring artists mainly from the Euro-region. Today, the technical acquisitions committee embodies this cross-border focus, whilst broadening the concept of territory to encompass mobility and the circulation of forms, ideas and imaginations. Aesthetic criteria are reassessed in the light of institutional criticism, taking into account social, political and economic contexts. The collection thus engages with the transformations of the contemporary world and the accelerating pace of communication. 

The collection is being developed along four main areas of acquisition: 

  • Objects / Design 

It has been a defining feature of the Frac Grand Large collection since its inception. The earliest pieces in the collection date from the 1950s, a period when design was emerging as a distinct field of practice and thought, situated between art, architecture and industry. Seating became a field of research into the tension between form and function. As early as 1983, a series of anthropomorphic chairs by Gaetano Pesce entered the collection, followed by pieces by numerous Italian designers associated with the Radical Movement; as well as Dutch, British, German and French designers (Arnal, Bourroulec, Charpin, crasset, Mourgue…). These objects bear witness to new social behaviours and developments in ‘critical design’. Today, design has permeated the social sphere: it is no longer simply a matter of shaping objects, but of incorporating questions about production processes, participation and recycling. Future acquisitions will reflect these new challenges and will continue to focus in particular on the theme of seating, expanding the collection with ‘duplicates’ (seats purchased in duplicate so that they can be used by visitors). The FRAC’s Design collection is constantly evolving; its focus will expand to include new interactions with the fields of art, architecture and ecology (production processes). 

  • Mobility 

The issue of geographical boundaries and those between different media has been a key focus of the collection since its inception, featuring artists mainly from the Euro-region and the United States (Lawrence Weiner, Claude Closky). Today, the project is expanding to other regions to emphasise the mobility and circulation of forms, ideas and imaginations (Cheick Ndiaye, Katia Kameli, Kohei Sasahara). The collection will thus engage with the transformations of the contemporary world and the accelerating pace of communication, prioritising a forward-looking perspective and cross-disciplinary approaches across different media (Alisa Baremboym, Chloé Quenum). This focus will, in particular, enable the collection to continue acquiring works related to literature and language whilst embracing new approaches. 

  • Images 

This theme is driven by the prominent role that images and the media play in our daily lives. From documentary aesthetics (Jeremy Deller, Lorena Zilleruello) to unapologetic kitsch (Torbjorn Rodland, Sylvie Fleury), via the visual arts (Annette Messager, Hedi Slimane), the collection already boasts a wealth of works by artists who use photography and video, as well as painting and installation, to filter images of the world and render them visible through increasingly hybrid media (collages, digital works, etc.). Whilst the proliferation of new media is transforming our relationship with space and materials, some artists are exploring an aesthetic described as ‘post-internet’, whilst others are returning to traditional materials and craftsmanship (glass, ceramics), prioritising the tactile dimension. The Frac will explore these new artistic avenues, in both their visual and performative dimensions, by continuing to acquire works by emerging artists. 

  • Art and Society 

In keeping with Robert Filliou’s adage that ‘art is what makes life more interesting than art’, the Frac will focus on works that intrude upon people’s everyday lives or that encourage their participation in order to shed light on society. Other works assert themselves more directly as witnesses to their era (Thierry Verbeke, Abäke, etc.). They will address issues linked to social change (our relationship with work and industry, immigration, multiculturalism, digital technology, violence) and history (speculative investigations, dystopias…), giving form to often complex questions or blind spots in our history. 

SUBMIT AN ACQUISITION PROPOSAL

UNSOLICITED NOMINATIONS MAY COVER BETWEEN 1 AND 3 WORKS PER YEAR AT MOST. 

SELECTION CRITERIA: 

The selection criteria are as follows: 

  • – The artistic and aesthetic qualities of the work, as well as its consistency with the artist’s body of work as a whole 
  • – The artist’s ability to situate their work within the creative landscape, in dialogue with contemporary art history 
  • – The coherence of the work within the FRAC’s collection and in relation to the artistic project’s objectives 
  • – The technical details of the artwork: storage and display requirements, and purchase price. 

-> For further information and to submit applications, please contact Marianne Martichou: m.martichou@fracgrandlarge-hdf.fr

SUBMIT A WORK: 

Galleries, art centres and artists may submit acquisition proposals. These must relate to living artists and works that are not already held in another French public collection. Unsolicited acquisition proposals may be submitted at any time of year by sending a dossier to the Frac Grand Large. 

The application will include: 

  • – A description of the work (including the author’s name and dates, and the date(s) of creation. Approximately 1,500 characters) 
  • – Detailed technical specifications for the work: 
  • Title, year, dimensions, full list of artist(s)/creator(s)/contributor(s), number of items 
  • – Technical details: assembly or activation instructions and diagrams (where applicable), including a list of the necessary equipment (digital equipment, set design, etc.), nature of the work and presentation format(s) (protocol, installation, performance, co-broadcast, etc.), list of materials and techniques used during the creation 
  • – Price quoted inclusive of all taxes and charges 
  • – HD image(s) of each piece with the corresponding credits (in TIFF or JPEG format, minimum 300 dpi) 
  • – For videos: low-resolution files on a USB stick or other storage medium; please specify the broadcast arrangements (dual or single channels, simulcast, etc.).  
  • – Outline of the overall artistic approach (approximately 1 page) 
  • – A statement demonstrating how the proposals align with the Frac’s collection and its established areas of research (approximately 1 page) 

The application may be supplemented with the following documents: 

  • – CV, biography and bibliography, images illustrating the artistic approach 
  • – Catalogues, artists’ books, etc. 

THE TECHNICAL ACQUISITION COMMITTEE

The Technical Acquisition Committee is chaired by the director of the Frac Grand Large. It is made up of contemporary art professionals appointed by the Frac’s Board of Directors on the director’s recommendation.

Members – volunteer art professionals – are appointed for a three-year term, which is renewable. They form a working and advisory group on the collection and are responsible for identifying and proposing works that fit within the artistic vision.

– Keren Detton
, Director of the Frac Grand Large — Hauts-de-France

– Heidi Ballet (Belgium / Germany)
An exhibition curator based between Berlin and Brussels, Heidi Ballet
is interested in the oceans, climate change and postcolonial theory. Since
2021, she has been working as an exhibition curator at the DE SINGEL art centre in Antwerp.
She has been a visiting lecturer at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp since 2022.

– Guillaume Désanges (France)
Director of the Palais de Tokyo art centre in Paris
An exhibition curator and art critic, Guillaume Désanges has been president of the Palais de Tokyo since January 2022. He has worked at the Laboratoires d’Aubervilliers, founded the independent production company Work Method, and served as a guest curator at the Le Plateau – Frac Île-de-France art centre.

– Anne-Claire Duprat (France)
Director of the Martell Foundation in Cognac
. An art historian, she has been working in the field of contemporary art and design for over 15 years and has expertise in cultural policy and diplomacy, as well as in international cooperation.

– Catherine de Zegher (Belgium)
Art historian and independent
curator. A member of the Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts of Belgium, Catherine de Zegher was director of the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent. De Zegher has curated numerous exhibitions covering both historical and contemporary art. An author and editor of many books on modern and contemporary artists, she notably published the book *Women Artists at the Millennium* in October, co-edited with Carol Armstrong (MIT Press).

– Thierry Verbeke (France)
An artist and curator based in Lille, Thierry Verbeke is interested in the history of the working class, various forms of protest, the economy and political communication.
His works are held in public collections in France and Belgium.