Über collector François Pinault is launching an artist residency program in a former rectory, the Quotidien de l’Art reports. The residency is located a stone’s throw from the Louvre-Lens, Pas-de-Calais (northern France). One of Pinault’s main advisers, former culture minister Jean-Jacques Aillagon, said the patron was inspired by a visit to the Louvre’s northern outpost and wants “to contribute to the regeneration of the area.”
The architect in charge of the building’s refurbishment is to be selected via an open call, while artists will be chosen by a jury including representatives from the Pinault Collection, the FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais, the Fresnoy, and Louvre-Lens. Two American artists, a Belgian, and a French will inaugurate the residency in the fall of 2015. Their names are yet to be announced.