# Fonds régional d'art contemporain

A Fonds régional d'art contemporain (Frac) is a public regional collection of contemporary art set in one of the metropolitan or overseas regions of France. There are currently 23 Fracs across the country, organised into a national network called Platform since 2005. Fracs are funded by regions, by the state through the Ministry of Culture and by municipalities. Originally without venues, Fracs are now hosted in repurposed historical buildings, or in purpose-built art museums, depending on the size of their collection.

## Founding and history

Fracs were founded by culture minister Jack Lang, as part of a decentralization policy to move aspects of governance out to regional governments. Starting in 1982, regional funds were set up to promote and support contemporary art by forming regional collections, and engaging in outreach to local communities and cultural institutions. For instance, it has often supported the creation of projects following the Protocol of the New patrons in France, developing over sixty artworks commissioned by local inhabitants.
The goals of the Frac program are:
* To build a heritage of contemporary art in French regions, and support the creation of new art through the combined actions of acquisitions and commissioning works. Each Frac may decide to specialize in a particular category of contemporary art.
* To disseminate funds widely within each region, developing regular partnerships with cultural institutions, local authorities and schools.
* To raise broad awareness in contemporary art methods, through tours, speakers, events with artists, and workshops with young people.

### Next generation

Starting in 2011, the Frac next generation programme set out plans to build new physical museums for several of these collections:
* Bretagne (Rennes, designed by architect Odile Decq, opened July 6, 2012)
* Centre-Val de Loire (Orléans, designed by architects Jakob + MacFarlane, opened September 5, 2013)
* Franche-Comté (Besançon, designed by architect Kengo Kuma, opened April 6, 2013)
* Grand Large – Hauts-de-France (Dunkerque, designed by architects Lacaton et Vassal, opened November 16, 2013)
* Nouvelle-Aquitaine MÉCA (Bordeaux, designed by architects Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and FREAKS, opened June 28, 2019)
* Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (Marseille, designed by architect Kengo Kuma, opened March 22, 2013)

## Frac collections

The 23 Frac collections, as of 2015:
| Region | City | Name | Creation | Collection |
| Alsace | Sélestat | Frac Alsace | 1982 | 1357 works, 489 artists |
| Aquitaine | Bordeaux | Frac Aquitaine | 1982 | 330 artists, over 1000 works |
| Auvergne | Clermont-Ferrand | Frac Auvergne | 1985 | 238 artistes |
| Bourgogne | Dijon | Frac Bourgogne | 1984 | 650 works |
| Bretagne | Rennes | Frac Bretagne | 1981 | 3928 works, 496 artists |
| Centre-Val de Loire | Orléans | Frac Centre-Val de Loire | 1982 | 13424 works, 391 artists |
| Champagne-Ardenne | Reims | Frac Champagne-Ardenne | 1984 | 680 works, 243 artists |
| Corse | Corte | Frac Corse | | |
| Franche-Comté | Besançon | Frac Franche-Comté | 1982 | 473 works, |255 artists |
| Île-de-France | Paris, 19th arrondissement | Le Plateau / Frac Ile-de-France | | 1347 works, 552 artists |
| Languedoc-Roussillon | Montpellier | Frac Languedoc-Roussillon | | 981 works, 372 artists |
| Limousin | Limoges | Frac Limousin | 1982 | 1271 works, 311 artists |
| Lorraine | Metz | Frac Lorraine | 1983 | 729 works, 277 artists |
| Midi-Pyrénées | Toulouse | Les Abattoirs, Musée - Frac Occitanie Toulouse | | 2332 works, 701 artists |
| Nord-Pas-de-Calais | Dunkerque | Frac Nord-Pas-de-Calais | 1983 | 1272 works, 512 artists |
| Basse-Normandie | Caen | Frac Basse-Normandie | 1983 | 979 works, |393 artists |
| Haute-Normandie | Sotteville-lès-Rouen | Frac Haute-Normandie | | |
| Pays de la Loire | Carquefou | Frac des Pays de la Loire | 1982 | |
| Picardie | Amiens | Frac Picardie | 1983 | 1538 works, 223 artists |
| Poitou-Charentes | Angoulême | Frac Poitou-Charentes | 1983 | 801 works, 326 artists |
| Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | Marseille | Frac Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | 1982 | 849 works, 389 artists |
| Rhône-Alpes | Villeurbanne | Institut d'art contemporain | | |
| Martinique | Fort-de-France | Frac Martinique | | |
| La Réunion | Saint-Denis | Frac Réunion | | |