FIAF’s 2016 Trophée des Arts Gala
On Friday, October 28, 2016, the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) honored American visual artist Jeff Koons with the 2016 Trophée des Arts and L’Oréal Chairman & CEO Jean-Paul Agon with the 2016 Pilier d’Or at The Plaza hotel.
The annual FIAF Trophée des Arts gala evening will raise funds to support FIAF’s educational and cultural programs and is co-chaired by Larry Gagosian, Kenneth M. Jacobs, William & Clémence Von Mueffling and Robert & Elisabeth G. Wilmers.
“This year’s honorees are pioneers and adventurers,” explains FIAF President Marie-Monique Steckel. “There is no doubt that each honoree is a leader in beauty and exploration. Jeff Koons has reinvented contemporary art and created a conversation about new forms and ways to express artistic creation; Jean-Paul Agon has spent his career traveling the world for L’Oréal and exploring new expressions of beauty.”
Marie- Monique Steckel said, “Every year, we gather to celebrate FIAF’s mission of promoting transatlantic dialogue in New York. On this occasion, we are delighted to honor artist Jeff Koons and businessman Jean-Paul Agon.
Our 2016-2017 season marks important milestones for our institution. We celebrated the 10th anniversary of our Crossing the Line Festival (CTL), embarked on a major renovation project to Florence Gould Hall (thanks to the generous support of John Young and the Florence Gould Foundation), and we expanded our Preschool to include a second classroom. Other highlights from this season include the new CTL initiative in partnership with The Edmond de Rothschild Foundations: BRIDGING A French-American Dialogue on Diversity and inclusion in the Arts as well as the return of Tilt Kids Festival this March.
As always, community engagement remains an important part of FIAF’s mission Our reach extends to all five boroughs and beyond through our Young Audience Program that invites schoolchildren to FIAF for French cultural and educational programming.”
Heydoyou blogger and fashion illustrator, Lulu Qu with James, Founder of Stylemusic.
Silent Auction at cocktail reception at Plaza Hotel.
L’Oréal Chairman & CEO Jean-Paul Agon gave a welcome talk in the event.
Jeff Koons explained his work “Balloon Dog (Yellow), limited edition of 2300” at Live Auction dinner.
About Trophée des Arts
Established in 1992, the Trophée des Arts is awarded each year to a distinguished artist or cultural icon who was exemplified our organization’s mission of French American friendship and across-cultural exchange.It has been bestowed upon French and American artists and cultural icons. Past recipients have included Lauren Bacall, Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Marc Jacobs, Le Cirque du Soleil, Christian Lacroix, Louis Malle, Charlie Rose, Jeanne Moreau, Jerome Robbins, Robert Wilson, Philippe de Montebello, Alain Ducasse, Angelique Kidjo, Francois Cluzet, Jacques Grange, and Francoise Gilot among others.
Jeff Koons, 2016 Trophée des Arts
Since his first solo exhibition in 1980, Jeff Koons has been recognized as one of the most prominent artists working today. Koons has long contributed to the cultural life in France. He presented his extraordinary floral public sculpture, Split-Rocker, for the first time at the Palais des Papes, Avignon, in 2000 and subsequently in the gardens of the Château de Versailles, which opened its doors to a living artist for the first time with Jeff Koons: Versailles in 2008. A recent exhibition, Jeff Koons: A Retrospective was presented to great fanfare in 2015 at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.
Jean-Paul Agon, 2016 Pilier d’Or
Chairman and CEO of L’Oréal, Jean-Paul Agon has spent his entire career with L’Oréal and is largely responsible for L’Oréal’s success in the growing Asian and American markets. A man of action, he instills in the Group the energy, rigor and vision needed to tackle the challenges of the world of beauty products. With vigor and conviction, he channels that same passion into promoting L’Oréal’s ethical values, making the company a model of corporate citizenship.
The Pilier d’Or recognizes a leading business figure, diplomat or philanthropist for outstanding contributions to the French-American community. Former honorees include Pierre Bellon (Sodexo), Thierry Breton (ATOS), Paul Desmarais Jr. (Power Corporation of Canada), Carlos Ghosn (Renault-Nissan Alliance), Fabrice Grinda (internet entrepeneur and investor);Alexandre de Juniac (Air France – KLM), Jean-Bernard Lévy (Vivendi), Christophe de Margerie (TOTAL), and Bernard Poussot (Wyeth).
ABOUT FIAF
The French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) is New York’s premiere French cultural and language center. FIAF‘s mission is to create and offer New Yorkers innovative and unique programs in education and the arts that explore the evolving diversity and richness of French cultures. FIAF seeks to generate new ideas and promote cross-cultural dialogue through partnerships and new platforms of expression. www.fiaf.org
FIAF’s language center is the largest French language school dedicated to reaching French in the tri-state area. More information could be accessed at here, http://www.fiaf.org/frenchclasses/.
