Mécène et Loire Foundation - Mécène et Loire Foundation Grants

What you get

You will receive 25,000 EUR for a one-year photography commission and an artist-in-residence programme in Angers, France. This sum comprises a fee of 10,000 EUR for the creation of the work and 15,000 EUR for two sets of framed prints: One set will go to the Artothèque d’Angers art library, the other to the foundation. During your residency, you will develop a photography project on a specified theme. For 2025/2026, the theme is ‘L’insaisissable’ (the elusive). Your works will subsequently be exhibited at the Artothèque d’Angers. The scholarship is awarded by the Fondation Mécène & Loire, a French corporate foundation dedicated to promoting art and culture in the Maine-et-Loire region, in collaboration with the Artothèque d’Angers.

Who can apply

• Who you are: You are a photographer or a member of an artists’ collective.
• What you produce: A new photo series on the theme of this issue.
• Residency: You can spend your artist-in-residence programme at 2026 in Angers, France.
• Nationality: Applicants of all nationalities are welcome to apply, including artists who are based outside France.
• Professional status: You are a registered artist and can provide evidence of this, for example by means of an artist registration number and liability insurance or, if you are resident abroad, by means of an equivalent document.

How to apply

Please submit your application to the Foundation by 20 September. It should include your CV, your portfolio, a one-page description of your proposed project and a timetable. A selection panel will choose three finalists in October. These three will present their projects in person to the jury in Angers in November, after which the winner will be announced.

How realistic are your chances?

This is an annual prize awarded to a single photographer or a collective, so competition is fierce, and only three finalists make it through to the final round. Your chances depend on a compelling portfolio and a project that clearly ties in with the given theme and the Maine-et-Loire region. A focused, well-reasoned proposal carries more weight here than a very broad one.