Organizer Information
The Fondation François Schneider is a public-interest foundation (reconnue d'utilité publique), a status granted by decree on 10 August 2005. Founded in 2000 by former industrialist François Schneider, the Foundation has long been based at a former mineral-water bottling site in Wattwiller, Alsace, where it runs a Contemporary Art Centre dedicated to the theme of water and awards close to 200 higher-education scholarships each year to students from modest backgrounds. Since 2011 it has organized the "Talents Contemporains" competition, which acquires and exhibits works by emerging and mid-career artists.
The Foundation has now acquired the Abbaye de Pontigny estate in Burgundy, a Cistercian site of roughly nine hectares with historic buildings, where it is developing a second art centre — this one built around the theme of Earth, in parallel with the water-themed centre in Wattwiller. The "Talents Contemporains – La Terre – Abbaye de Pontigny" competition is the first initiative launched on this new site.
Title & Description
Talents Contemporains – La Terre – Abbaye de Pontigny, 1st edition (2026)
This is the inaugural edition of a competition organized by the Fondation François Schneider on the theme of the Earth, aimed at fostering the emergence and recognition of artists through the acquisition of their work and its permanent installation in the outdoor grounds of the Abbaye de Pontigny estate. The works selected are intended to form the beginning of a landscaped sculpture trail on the estate, running alongside the ongoing construction of the Foundation's planned contemporary art centre there.
Theme
The Earth ("La Terre").
Categories
- Sculpture
- Installation
- Site-specific
- Land Art
- Public Art
- Environment
Eligibility
- Open to any individual, of any nationality, from anywhere in the world
- Entry limited to one artwork per candidate
- Candidate must be the author of the submitted Work and hold the necessary rights to enter it
- The Work must not be subject to any prior exclusive assignment or third-party commitment incompatible with participation or with a future acquisition/licensing contract
- Only an existing, already-completed Work may be submitted (no proposals for works yet to be produced)
- The Work must be, and must remain, unique; if it exists in multiple copies, the Foundation may reduce the award to a maximum of €8,000, and the candidate must disclose the exact number of existing copies
- Fields accepted: sculpture and installations suitable for outdoor display only
Program Benefits & Awards
- Total award per laureate: €15,000 including VAT
- Composed of an €8,000 merit prize plus €7,000 for the purchase of the Work and the grant of copyright
- Award reduced to a maximum of €8,000 if the Work is a multi-edition piece
- Transport and installation costs for the Work within the Foundation's landscaped grounds and/or premises are covered by the Foundation
- Up to five laureates may be selected if the International Grand Jury judges the standard of entries sufficiently high
- Finalists (around 30 candidates) receive official announcement and promotion of their profile via the Foundation's website, social media, and press communications
Application Fee
None
Application Requirements
- Signed application form, read and approved — PDF
- Copy of a valid identity document (front and back of ID card or passport) — PDF
- CV — PDF, maximum 2 A4 pages
- Artistic portfolio covering the candidate's entire career and work (text and/or visuals) — PDF, maximum 10 A4 pages, maximum 10 MB
- Written presentation of the submitted work, including title, year of creation, and a one-page description — PDF, maximum 4 A4 pages
- Technical specifications sheet: dimensions (height, width, depth), materials/techniques, installation requirements (floor mounting, plinth, etc.), and care/maintenance recommendations for outdoor display
- 1 to 5 images of the work (photograph, diagram, plan, etc.) — JPG, maximum 5 MB per image
- A video of the work — MOV/MP4, maximum 500 MB
- A detailed procedure for dismantling and potential future relocation of the work, since it is intended for permanent outdoor installation but must be designed to be removable
- Applications must be written in French for French-speaking candidates and in English for all others
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 23 August 2026
- Application review and finalist pre-selection by the Committee of Experts: September–October 2026
- Finalist list published: October 2026
- International Grand Jury deliberations: November 2026
- Winners announced: November 2026
Location
Burgundy, France
Additional Details
- Selection occurs in two stages: a Committee of Experts narrows all applications down to roughly 30 finalists, then an International Grand Jury — chaired by Christine Macel — selects the winners from among them
- Decisions of both bodies are final; no appeal is possible, and neither body will comment on unsuccessful entries
- Incomplete applications, or those not following the format instructions, will not be forwarded to the Committee of Experts or the Grand Jury
- Candidates must declare their status with collective rights-management organizations (e.g. ADAGP, SAIF) both at application and at contract signing
- By entering, candidates grant the Foundation a free, non-exclusive, worldwide license to reproduce and disseminate their application materials for the purposes of organizing, communicating about, and promoting the competition
- Laureates enter into a separate contract with the Foundation covering acquisition and copyright licensing; non-commercial institutional uses carry no extra remuneration, while ancillary commercial exploitation (catalogues, postcards, posters) is considered included in the €15,000 payment; any other, more extensive commercial exploitation requires a separate prior agreement
- Laureates must deliver the work with any display supports needed at no extra cost, be present for its installation, and personally commission it if necessary; they are also expected to take part in press events, mediation projects, and other promotional activities, though the Foundation makes no reciprocal promotional commitment
- Personal data of unsuccessful candidates is retained for a maximum of two years after the competition closes; data on laureates is retained for the duration of the contract and applicable legal archiving periods
- Candidates authorize the Foundation to capture and use their image, voice, and statements for institutional communication and promotion, without additional remuneration
- Any fraud, attempted fraud, or breach of French law may result in exclusion from the competition
- These Regulations are governed by French law, and disputes fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts where the Foundation is registered