Modern Patronage
Across the contemporary art world, six visionary voices are reshaping the ways in which creativity is nurtured, measuring success not solely by market value, but purpose, context and cultural momentum.
How today’s patrons are redefining what it means to support the arts.
Goshka Macuga, GONOGO, in the courtyard of Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, 2023. Photo: Ela Bialkowska / OKNO studio
Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo
The prominent Italian patron and founder of the ever-expanding Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo is renowned for the breadth and ambition of her collection and regular commissions, spanning installation, film, photography, painting and costume jewellery. This year marks another significant milestone in her commitment to contemporary art in the form of a new cultural venue on San Giacomo, an abandoned island wedged between Murano and Madonna del Monte in the Venetian lagoon. The existing buildings, some dating back to 1810, are steeped in layers of history, and have been carefully reworked to house a dynamic centre for artistic projects, research and dialogue – an interdisciplinary platform devoted to contemporary culture. The much-anticipated complex is set to open in May, coinciding with the opening of the 61st Venice Biennale.
Pierre Huyghe, Liminal, 2024-on-going, Courtesy the artist and Galerie Chantal Crousel, Mar-ian Goodman Gallery, Hauser & Wirth, Esther Schipper, TARO NASU and Anna Lena Films
The word “partnership” can ring hollow without a clear, shared purpose or passion – the latter qualities are things which most certainly characterise the collaboration between Fondation Beyeler, one of Switzerland’s most-visited art museums, and Richard Mille, the storied watchmaker renowned for its deft fusion of engineering and creative expression. Marked by a series of fascinating events and exhibitions, the alliance is now entering its fourth year.
“Our partnership is rooted in shared values: a dedication to excellence, the nurturing of creativity, and an enduring respect for craftsmanship,” reflects Peter Harrison, CEO of Richard Mille EMEA. Indeed, such bridges between private industry, such as watchmaking, and the arts can open up opportunities for either side: for the latter, they encourage experimentation and creative risk-taking, allowing institutions to think long-term thanks to the promise of sustained support. Brands like Richard Mille can, in turn, give voice to their core principles – in this case, innovation and creativity – through a different cultural medium, reaching a greater audience of potential clients. This year, for instance, the partnership plans to host a comprehensive exhibition of French artist Pierre Huyghe’s works, among others.
The Swiss watchmaker is no stranger to the art world, having long supported a number of highly regarded institutions such as the Louvre Abu Dhabi and MoMA. But its work has always been from behind the scenes, letting the artistic vision lead the way.
© Boros and Richard Mille (Concept & Design)
Switzerland’s Engadin Valley – long a magnet for creative visionaries – is celebrated in Engadin: An Art Journey Volume II, a new publication revealing the region’s hidden gems and untold stories, created as part of Fondation Beyeler and Richard Mille’s ongoing partnership.
(Photo: Bertrand Moulin)
The French jeweller’s Lady Arpels Ballerines Musicales watches, as well as its iconic Dancer clips, are the signature expressions of its poetic connection to the world of dance. This dialogue began in 1920s Paris, when co-founder Louis Arpels frequented the Opéra Garnier with his nephew Claude Arpels. Claude later formed a creative bond with choreographer George Balanchine, whose ballet Jewels inspired the Ballerines Musicales watch trilogy – marking a pivotal moment in a lasting exchange between high jewellery and dance. Today, that legacy lives on through Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels, founded in 2020 to support choreographers and companies worldwide, including collaborations this year at the 2026 Sydney Festival.
Mark Bradford, Keep Walking, Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, © Mark Bradford and Hauser & Wirth, Photo by Jacopo La Forgia
Hamburger Bahnhof International Companions
Sustaining cultural ecosystems beyond public funding is crucial across the globe, especially in places like Germany where public support for the arts was once robust. Taking matters into their own hands, Berlin gallery Hamburger Bahnhof’s director duo Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath teamed up with art collectors Monique Burger and Christine Würfel-Stauss to form a global collective of patrons, Hamburger Bahnhof International Companions, with an aim to reinforce the ever-evolving space for contemporary art into “a museum that refuses to stand still”. Kicking off its 30th-anniversary year with an art gala, A Night in Berlin, this March, the initiative signals a new chapter for European public institutions.
(Photo: Annie Leibovitz)
What the Swiss-born advocate of both art and environmental initiatives provides is a space in which diverse art mediums come together, creating ripples that extend across a wider cultural landscape. Interested in art from an early age, she is actively involved in the creative process herself, while supporting many key projects, including Les Rencontres d’Arles and the Serpentine Galleries, to name but two. Most notably, she established the LUMA Foundation and LUMA Arles, a centre for interdisciplinary collaborations housed in former industrial buildings anchored by a Frank Gehry-designed tower.
(Photo: Gion Studio)
Set across the picturesque islands of the Setouchi Inland Sea in Japan, Benesse Art Site Naoshima has established itself as one of the world’s most distinguished art destinations. The idea behind the project came from the Fukutake family, whose three generations of stewardship have formed a continuing conversation between contemporary art and the local communities of the islands. This reciprocal relationship has become a benchmark for rural revitalisation across the country. Last year, the project launched the nearly 3,200sq m Naoshima New Museum of Art, which Hideaki Fukutake – chairman of the Fukutake Foundation – described as being “rooted in the community yet open to the world – quintessentially Naoshima, where art, architecture, nature and community exist in quiet harmony.”
Header image: Installation view of Eun-Me Ahn, Pinky Pinky “Good.”, on Island of San Giacomo, 2024, Courtesy Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo
