Agency
L'art en plus is a consultancy specialising in cultural strategy, communication and content production. We work with foundations, luxury houses and companies to shape and deliver their projects in art and creativity.
Integrated communication
Giving lasting form to expression.
We design communication strategies that give our clients visibility, coherence and influence, in France and internationally. From defining narratives to activating campaigns, every programme is built to amplify a project’s reach and establish its reputation over time.
– Audit, benchmarking and positioning analysis
– Developing narratives and editorial direction
– Media relations and influence
– Media, digital and social media campaigns
– Events and experiences
– Strategic partnerships and activations
clients
- Diptyque & Fondation Diptyque
- GUERLAIN
- Art and Culture Development Foundation of Uzbekistan (ACDF)
- AFALULA & Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU)
- Lee Ufan Arles
- Fondation Louis Roederer
- Bloomberg Philanthropies
- Venet Foundation
- Fondation d’entreprise Martell
- Avignon Tourisme
- Rubis Mécénat
- ellipse art projects
- Orient Express & Fonds de dotation Orient Express
- KADIST
- Hakanto Contemporary
- Audi talents
- SAM Art Projects
- Fondation Thalie
- Collection Société Générale
- Espace Muraille & Palazzo Al Bosco
- Fondation CHU Teh-Chun
- Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
- Maison Matisse
- Emerige – Fonds de dotation Emerige
- Fondation Carmignac
- MAIF
- Fondation François Schneider
- Palais d’Iéna – Conseil économique, social et environnemental
Social media & e-influence
Engaging audiences and communities.
We deploy digital strategies that match our clients’ ambitions. Every message is designed to engage the audiences that matter, strengthen image and place content within the most influential ecosystems.
– Social media strategy and editorial lines
– Planning and targeted campaigns
– Multimedia content production with our specialised partners
– Collaborations with influence profiles
– Analysis and optimisation of digital impact
clients
- Diptyque & Fondation Diptyque
- GUERLAIN
- AFALULA & Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU)
- Lee Ufan Arles
- Fondation Louis Roederer
- Bloomberg Philanthropies
- Venet Foundation
- Fondation d’entreprise Martell
- Avignon Tourisme
- Rubis Mécénat
- ellipse art projects
- Orient Express & Fonds de dotation Orient Express
- KADIST
- Hakanto Contemporary
- Audi talents
- SAM Art Projects
- Fondation Thalie
- Collection Société Générale
- Espace Muraille & Palazzo Al Bosco
- Fondation CHU Teh-Chun
- Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
- Maison Matisse
- Emerige – Fonds de dotation Emerige
- MAIF
- Fondation François Schneider
- Palais d’Iéna – Conseil économique, social et environnemental
Cultural strategy and brand identity
Culture is not an add-on to image: it is a strategic language.
We help brands and patrons turn their commitment to culture into a strategic asset. By placing creativity at the heart of their identity, we build positionings that set them apart for the long term: a distinctive territory of expression, recognised legitimacy within the art world, a benchmark cultural signature.
– Defining vision, cultural territory and brand positioning
– Designing patronage programmes, creating foundations and endowment funds
– Identifying and developing artistic and cultural projects
– Strategic collaborations and partnerships
– Artistic direction, visual worlds and editorial narratives
Production & cultural engineering
Bringing projects to life.
We conceive, lead and produce major cultural projects in France and internationally. From strategic vision to delivery, we bring together the right talents for each project: artists, curators, authors, artistic directors.
– Cultural engineering consulting: conception, management, delivery
– Cultural project management: strategic vision, masterplanning, operations
– Conception and production of exhibitions and events
– Curation: programming, artistic direction, storytelling
– Multimedia content production
Our approach
Culture is not an add-on to image: it is a strategic language.
The strongest cultural projects create memory, transmission and shared narratives; they shape identity, bring communities together and support lasting transformations. This is why culture now plays a growing role in questions of leadership, influence and visibility.
We work with those committed to creativity — patrons, philanthropists, companies — to conceive, structure and deliver their cultural initiatives, where art meets the questions shaping society. Every project is built in line with our clients’ vision and values, combining strategic consulting, artistic direction, communication and content production.
Our close knowledge of patronage, luxury and the art world, drawn from a network of talents and decision-makers, allows us to give each project the visibility, the precision and the impact it deserves.
The agency
l’art en plus is both a consultancy and a platform of expertise: a close-knit team, attentive to its clients, able to bring together the best talents for each project — strategy, communication, media, production, digital. This agility lets us offer tailored solutions that match every level of ambition.
Behind l’art en plus: two paths, a shared vision.
Virginie Burnet built her expertise at the heart of the art market and corporate communication strategy: a pioneering commitment to patronage, deep knowledge of its ecosystem, and proven command of influence. Olivia de Smedt built hers between curatorial practice and the contemporary scene — artistic production, design, architecture, international projects — with a strong focus on shaping projects and building narratives.
Together, they defined a distinctive approach and positioning: thinking strategy through culture, so that every project finds its right expression.
The team
Virginie Burnet
Founder and President
A graduate of Sciences Po Paris, with degrees in law and art history from Université Panthéon-Sorbonne, Virginie Burnet led communication, media relations and public relations for France's leading auction house for fifteen years. Drawing on this experience of the art market, she founded l'art en plus in 2009, bringing together her long-standing commitment to patronage and philanthropy and her passion for art and culture. Today she advises executives, brands and foundations on shaping and delivering cultural strategies, patronage policies and influence programmes.
Olivia de Smedt
Managing Partner
Trained in art history, cultural management and communication, Olivia de Smedt joined l'art en plus in 2013, after some ten years devoted to developing projects in contemporary art, design and architecture, in France and abroad — notably in Beijing, Seoul and Paris. She brings the agency an approach that is both curatorial and strategic: leading communication and influence campaigns, producing content, and mobilising an engaged network of cultural players. A partner in the publishing house JBE Books, she works in constant dialogue between creation, publishing and transmission.
Eugénie Vignon
Project Manager and Communication Officer
Trained in art history at the Institut Catholique de Paris and then at the Sorbonne (Paris I), Eugénie Vignon began her career at Christie’s Paris before joining the editorial team at Connaissance des Arts, then a leading Paris press relations agency, where she designed communication strategies for major players in culture, architecture and design. At the agency, she coordinates corporate communication and media relations, in France and internationally, as well as the development of selected cultural projects.
Aude Keruzore
Project Manager and Communications Officer
A graduate in law and art history from Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne — where she helped develop the Prix Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne for contemporary art — and later specialised in cultural communication at CELSA, Aude Keruzore earned her experience in contemporary creation, notably at an agency where she led media relations for various institutions. At the agency, she advises private and philanthropic clients on their media and digital strategy, and oversees the production of cultural events.
Thomas Brown
International Media Relations Consultant
A strategic communication consultant for the cultural sector, based between New York, London and Paris, Thomas Brown has over ten years of experience in senior roles within institutions — notably the Calder Foundation — and public relations agencies specialising in the arts. He currently works with the Dia Art Foundation, the American Friends of the Louvre and the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. A graduate of Hampshire College and Harvard Business School, he is also a young patron of the Alliance Française and a member of the French-American Chamber of Commerce.
David Desrimais
Artistic Direction and Editorial Projects Consultant
Founder and director of JBE Books, David Desrimais has been publishing books for over fifteen years. He led the Fondation Cartier’s digital activities for ten years and works as an editorial expert for art venues and the luxury world. Founded in 2011, JBE Books publishes works for the digital age in the fields of art, the humanities and poetry, with international artists and authors, distributing them across some twenty countries on three continents. Chaumet, Perrier-Jouët, Google and MIT are among its references.
Laurent Chetrit
Media Planning and Buying Consultant
A graduate with a master’s in ethnology and sociology, Laurent Chetrit spent twenty years in communication for major sporting events — Formula 1, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Roland-Garros, the FIFA World Cup — before joining a leading communication agency in the fashion world, where he led media planning for France and Europe. Now independent, he brings this dual expertise to art and culture.
Our references
