Agency

l'art en plus is a consulting agency advising on communication and production of cultural content.
It assists patrons, philanthropists and other private actors involved in society and creation. The agency develops visibility and influence, designs and manages artistic projects, and mobilizes talent and resources for creatives.

Image and visibility +

Global Communication

We manage global communication for projects driven by private actors at an international level.

Thanks to a synergy of events, press campaigns, networking and social media, we build positive visibility and reputation. The agency acts as a consulting and communication platform, offering evaluations and benchmarks, brand strategies and engagement, activations, storytelling/experiences, partnerships, internal communication and mobilization.

Media Relations

We tailor each campaign with the goal of reaching a global scope and generating qualitative results. Campaigns encompass editorial contents, communication tools, media activations, media plans and partnerships. International media relations are administered from our Paris office, in order to closely track the impact of the message and reach international audience.

Mobilization and influence +

Social Media and e-Influence

We moderate our clients’ image on social networks and shape their digital communication in accordance with their ambitions. This encompasses supervising social media strategy, producing multimedia contents, editorial scheduling, community management, targeted advertising and mobilization of e-influencers. We organize pertinent and impactful messages to fluidly connect our clients with their audiences and their targets for the long term.

Public Relations and Networks

We facilitate meaningful encounters to establishing long-term projects and collaborations. For each project, we rally decision-makers, creative talents and influential figures from the worlds of culture, design/lifestyle, craftsmanship, luxury and economics, thus boosting positive ambassadorship.

Production and events +

Production

We dream up and supervise artistic projects in their entirety (concept, sourcing, artistic direction, partnerships, communication) by drawing from a pool of expert resources: exhibition curators, artistic directors, scenographers, artists, designers, editors, graphic designers, and audiovisual producers, amongst others.

Events

We organize creative, intimate and large-scale, events, identify the best service providers and coordinate with them. We also design content, experiences and artistic performances). The spectrum of organized events includes award ceremonies, public exhibition openings, private exhibition views, launches, soirées, dinners, conferences and talks.

clients

Approach

Based in Paris, l’art en plus advises and assists both companies and individual patrons who wish to develop creative endeavors and philanthropic involvement. These meaningful actions help create a distinctive identity within a competitive landscape and communicate a commitment to creativity.

Our client relationships are characterized by personal, direct and involved exchanges, in order to best utilize our expertise, high standards and creativity.

Shaped by professional experiences with brands and within the cultural ecosystem – compounded by an active network of professionals and tastemakers – we have sharpened our expertise around project development and influence. Mixing proactivity and talents, we heighten our clients’ image, sphere of influence and overall reputation.

Partners

Virginie Burnet

President, Founder

Virginie Burnet founded l’art en plus in 2009, combining her long-standing commitment to patronage and philanthropy with her passion for art and culture. After graduating from Sciences Po Paris where she studied law and art history, Virginie Burnet spent over 15 years as the Head of Communication and Media Relations at Hôtel Drouot, a key hub of the art market. There, she managed both the institutional communication of Parisian auctioneers in the midst of the reform of their profession and the international press campaigns for major auctions. She also launched the first exhibitions curated by “personalities” from the art world, from gallerist Pearl Lam to collector Guillaume Houzé, and organized numerous public relations and charity events. In 2008, she leaves the art market to devote herself to patronage and philanthropy and created l’art en plus. As a communications and media professional, she has a solid expertise and network that she provides to the agency's clients and their projects.

Olivia de Smedt

Associate Director

Olivia de Smedt joined l’art en plus as Associate Director in 2013 to combine her expertise in artistic production and communication. Olivia de Smedt studied Art history, cultural management and communication, which led her to work in artistic production and communication. Over several years, she coordinateds curatorial projects in France and abroad, a collaborative endeavor with curators Gaël Charbau and Benjamin Loyauté. These projects brought her to Beijing - namely coordinating the largest exhibition within the first Beijing International Design Triennal at the National Museum of China - and to Seoul, where she showcased the emerging French scene at the SongEun Art Space with the Institut Français. In France, she was involved in the Biennale Internationale de Design in Saint-Etienne and helped showcase residents of the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. She masters the production process as well as the development of strategies and communication for large-scale events, and her wide network includes numerous tastemakers within the art and design world. She is also an associate of the publishing house JBE Books.

Team

Marion Gardair

Head of Communications "Patronage and philanthropy"

Marion Gardair holds a joint degree in Communication and Language Sciences from the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris and the University of Ottawa, Canada. During her time working in Parisian PR agencies, Marion led a number of projects in the cultural, design and lifestyle fields. As an institutional communication specialist, she worked alongside cultural events, brands, creative studios and independent publishing houses to develop their visibility on French and international markets. At l’art en plus, Marion coordinates the strategies, both corporate and digital, of several clients. She puts her active network of journalists and influencers of the arts and cultural industries at the service of her clients’.

Eugénie Vignon

Project Manager and Communications Officer

Eugénie Vignon graduated from the Institut Catholique de Paris with a double degree in Art History and English, and from the Sorbonne Paris I with a Master’s degree in Art History. She began her career in the art market at Christie’s Paris, before turning to the media sector and joining the team of Connaissance des Arts. She then worked for a major press relations agency in Paris, where she helped develop communications strategies for well-known clients in the fields of culture, architecture and design. In her personal life, Eugénie cultivates a passion for classical music, having played the piano for twenty years, and has a particular interest in Japanese culture and the world of cinema.
At the agency, Eugénie coordinates the corporate communications strategy as well as French and international media relations for several projects.

Aude Keruzore

Project Manager and Communications Officer

After a double degree in Law and Art History at the Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, where she was involved in the development and communication of the Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne Prize for Contemporary Art, Aude Keruzore specialized in cultural communication at the CELSA. Having acquired a number of professional experiences in the field of contemporary creation, she notably worked in a Parisian communications agency, coordinating media relations for a varied portfolio of institutions.
At the agency, Aude assists private actors and philanthropists in developing their media and digital communications strategies, and manages the production of cultural events.

Sarah Jacquelin

Project and Communications Officer

Sarah Jacquelin studied Cultural Mediation at the Sorbonne Nouvelle and Art Market Management at the EAC. Her dual French-Finnish nationality and her life as an expatriate around the world have given her a rich cultural background. Drawing on her professional experience at international art fairs and working alongside various cultural players, Sarah has nurtured her curiosity for the art world while consolidating her skills in communications and patronage.

Thomas Brown

PR consultant for US and UK Thomas Brown, founder of Thomas Brown Communications

Thomas Brown is a strategic communications consultant for the cultural sector. With over a decade of professional experience, he has held senior positions at several public relations and marketing agencies specializing in arts and culture and was previously employed in the external affairs department at the Calder Foundation. Thomas holds a Bachelor of Arts in Visual and Critical Studies from Hampshire College, a Certificate in Management from Harvard Business School, and a Certificate in French Language from École Polytechnique. He is a Young Patron of the French Institute Alliance Française and a member of the French-American Chamber of Commerce.

David Desrimais

Editorial projects and publishing consultant

David Desrimais, founder and director of JBE Books, has been publishing books for over 15 years. He directed the digital activities of the Fondation Cartier for 10 years and works as an editorial expert for art venues and the luxury world. Founded in 2011, JBE Books publishes books for the digital age in the arts, humanities and poetry, with international artists and authors and for worldwide distribution. Thanks to a unique network of distributors, the publishing house now distributes its books in 20 countries on 3 continents. JBE Books collaborates with cultural institutions, luxury houses and art professionals worldwide. References include Chaumet, Perrier-Jouët, Google and MIT.