The 2025 Étant donnés Grantees
Villa Albertine and Albertine Foundation are pleased to announce the laureates of the 2025 Étant donnés grants, a flagship program supporting contemporary art exhibitions, commissions, and curatorial research.
Founded in 1994, the Étant donnés program has focused on highlighting the work of living French and American visual artists whose works have rarely, if ever, been presented in the United States or France. It is structured around two key programs: creative and curatorial grants.
Discover the diverse contemporary art projects we are thrilled to support this year from large-scale exhibitions and commissions at French or American organizations to funding American curators to conduct research on the French visual art scene.
This year’s Artistic committee met on March 18 in Paris. It was formed by: Raphaël Barontini, Visual Artist; Marie de Brugerolle, Critic and Curator; Kimberly Gant, Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art, Brooklyn Museum of Art; Rebecca Lamarche Vadel, Director of Lafayette Anticipations, Paris; Nick Stillman, Executive Director of Prospect, New Orleans.
Étant donnés is a program of Villa Albertine and Albertine Foundation, with the exclusive sponsorship of AXA. In partnership with French Ministry of Culture and French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Institut Français, Independent Curators International (ICI) and ADAGP.
Grand Central Art Center – Enrique Ramírez
Santa Ana | Starting September 2026
“Drops in the Desert,” curated by John SpiakSee less
This project is comprised of a poetic and minimalist short film by artist Enrique Ramírez set in the desert between the United States and Mexico. The film centers on the act of leaving water in this inhospitable landscape and is inspired by the women who distribute water to migrants crossing the border. The project is part of Ramírez’s exhibition at the Grand Central Art Center, where he plans to develop an in-depth investigation on water as a narrative and symbolic axis. This exploration will include interviews with migrants who have crossed the desert and the women who, to this day, distribute water in these territories as an act of solidarity and resistance. At the same time, the project will address the devastating issue of wildfires in California, connecting the scarcity of water in the desert with broader climatic and ecological challenges.
Enrique Ramírez
Enrique Ramírez is a Franco-Chilean artist working between Paris and Santiago who blends video, sound, photography, and installation into poetic, politically charged narratives. His work often centers on the sea as a space of memory and migration. A Venice Biennale participant (2017) and Marcel Duchamp Prize nominee (2020), he is currently in residence at the Villa Médicis (2025–2026).
Photo: Enrique Ramirez, Drop in the Desert, stills for anticipated video installation 2025, courtesy of the artist © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris