On Monday, Paris dealer Kamel Mennour will stage the fifth iteration of “Heroes,” a fundraising auction he launched in 2015 to benefit the Institut Imagine in the French capital, which conducts research, care, and teaching related to genetic diseases.

The auction is organized every two years on the campus of the Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades AP-HP which houses the Institut Imagine. The project is spearheaded by Mennour, whose child spent time there, after being diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder more than a decade ago.

Alicia Kwade, Principium, (2023). Photo by Roman Mär. ©Alicja Kwade. Courtesy the artist and Mennour, Paris

When Mennour was approached about supporting the Institut Imagine, he said in an interview, “I was very inspired and I thought, I have to give back.” Charitable initiatives of this kind are not as common in France as they are in the United States, he noted.

The first sale raised €3 million (about $3.4 million), the second €5 million ($5.6 million), the third €7 million ($7.1 million), and the fourth €8 million ($8 million).

The latest sale has a star-studded lineup that includes Pier Paolo Calzolari, Claire Fontaine, Ryan Gander, Camille Henrot, and Anish Kapoor. “We are trying to do as much as we can,” Mennour said. “More than €8 million this time.”

Claire Fontaine, Foreigners Everywhere (French), 2006. Photo. Archives Mennour. ©Studio Claire Fontaine, courtesy the artist
and Mennour, Paris

The artworks just went on view in Mennour’s gallery on the Avenue Matignon in Paris, where they will remain until the auction on September 23.

Bidders and guests must apply to attend the event, which includes a dinner component. In the past, around 300 have attended, and 30 lots have been offered. “It’s not an auction where we are selling tables,” said Mennour, who is marking his 25th year as a dealer. “Seats are free.”

François Morellet, 3 arcs de néon inclinés à 0°, 90°, 45° . Photo by Fabrice Seixas

In 2014, to mark the inauguration of a new building for the institute, the artist François Morellet donated a work with Mennour to the organization. Titled 3 neon arcs inclined at 0°, 90° and 45° , it is permanently installed in its garden, a respite for patients and their families.

“Young patients will perhaps see in it the simple figure of a joyful pirouette, and researchers an evocation of the twists and turns of the journey of reflection” Morellet said at the time.

Three high-profile auction figures connected to Christie’s will conduct the charity sale this year: Cécile Verdier, president of Christie’s France, Julien-Vincent Brunie, global head of Christie’s private sales, and François de Ricqlès, former president of Christie’s France. De Ricqlès was also involved in the creation of “Heroes” in 2015.