Amis - 120 Years With the Musée National d'Art Moderne

Founded in 1903, the Société des Amis du Musée will, during the 120 years that punctuate its existence, change its name, its statutes, its presidents, accompanying the museum to which it is dedicated in its moves and its developments while remaining faithful to its primary vocation: "to make or provoke donations or free loans, with a view to developing public collections of contemporary art", "to acquire, in the interest of these collections, works deemed worthy of taking place there" , "to provide free of charge the assistance necessary for these acquisitions".

This cooperation over more than a century has created fruitful relationships for the arts and artists, but has also experienced periods of tension inherent in such a long partnership. This link nevertheless managed to cross the 20th century and overcome its multiple crises, creating a rare ecosystem, but extremely representative of the history of museums, where philanthropy, patronage actions, support for contemporary creation and cultural issues combine, political and social.

More than 1000 works have entered the collection thanks to the commitment of the Friends, making the association the first patron of the National Museum of Modern Art.

In 2002, the first acquisition group dedicated to the contemporary scene was created. Today, the friends of the Center Pompidou bring together 18 dedicated, thematic and geographical acquisition committees.

For example, in 2022, more than 150 works have joined national collections and 5 research grants supported by the Friends.