EVERY DONATION COUNTS AND HAS ALLOWED US TO CARRY OUT OUR DAILY ACTIONS FOR 17 YEARS
The Fondation Zinsou is a private structure under Beninese law, which does not benefit from public aid. All of our funding is private and depends on the willingness of individuals to support us.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO PARTICIPATE? HERE ARE THE ACTIONS THAT WE FINANCE THANKS TO YOUR DONATIONS
You can make a donation in Benin or, for international donations, below through our French structure Contemporary A.
THE SMALL BRUSHES
The Small Brushes workshop is open free of charge to children on Wednesdays and Saturdays, but also on other days during school visits. It is often a first approach to art education, which is almost non-existent in the current school system in Benin.
In connection with the current exhibition or with the visit of artists in residence, children discover and practice drawing, painting, sculpture, dance... Dedicated animators, in connection with the mediation service, create weekly workshops that are always full!
ARTISTS' RESIDENCIES
It seems fundamental to us to be in permanent dialogue with the artists who make up the creation of our time, to welcome them and to accompany them. The residency program, opened in 2007, is one of the museum's great opportunities, as it has led to numerous exhibitions and a wonderful dialogue with our public. Each residency is tailored to the artist and their projects. The donations we receive allow us to adapt to each project to be as relevant as possible.
THE CULTURAL BUS
Thanks to an exceptional sponsorship from the Vauprès family, along with MTN, Scil Bénin Peintures and Oryx Bénin, our multicolored bus travels the roads to pick up schoolchildren who request it.
The donations allow us to maintain the bus and to drive it from the museum to the schools and from the schools to the museum.
FREE ACCESS
Free access is the first principle that our team has established since the opening of the foundation in 2005. It is a conscious choice that we do not wish to question.
In Benin, a country with a developing economy, charging an entrance fee, however modest, would be an insurmountable barrier for a large part of our public and would break one of the things we believe in the most: Culture is a right, not a luxury.
People who cannot afford to pay for an entrance ticket should not be excluded from the tremendously enriching adventure of visiting a museum.
The reality of free admission represents significant costs, in terms of exhibition creation, mediation, maintenance of the museum and welcoming the public. All donations are important, whatever their amount, to allow us to keep the museum alive.
PUBLISHING
The artists' words must be archived, it is essential to fix them in the present, for the future, so that they do not disappear, because it is about the heritage of the generations to come, these words will allow them to understand the past and to build the history.
During the artists' residencies and the preparation of exhibitions, numerous exchanges take place between the artists and the teams. These are recorded, transcribed, sorted, rewritten, collected, and then validated by the artists. It is this work that is shared with the public through the Archives du Présent. Accompanying this publishing program is one way to get involved in the Museum's project and allows us to publish our books at affordable prices as well as to offer them as free downloads.
The Museum of Ouidah could not have been created without the help of our many patrons who have wholeheartedly supported our project. We would like to thank them for their trust, their motivation, the time they have devoted to us, their contribution and their support.
This project was made possible by Lionel and Marie-Christine Zinsou.
We would like to express our thanks to :
Christian Langlois-Meurinne
Mercedes Villardell
Marie-Sophie Eiché Demester
Le Studio Joël Andrianomearisoa
Sotheby's and in particular Guillaume Cerruti and Marguerite de Sabran for their renewed confidence and enthusiasm from the first mention of the creation of the Museum;
Havas Worldwide and its incredible teams for accompanying us with such creativity and generosity;
SCIL Benin and Tomaso Berruti, for allowing us, once again, to put our ideas in color;
Colas, Air France, Isocel and Robert Aouad, Necotrans, Sinwa Adas;
Ignace Tovidé and his teams for accepting the challenge of creating a museum in Ouidah;
