Tristan Fourmy is not yet 30 and is already preparing to run a museum. This young curator has just been appointed director of the Sens museums, in Yonne. Since November 2025, he has been ensuring the transition with Benjamin Fendler, the current director of museums. Tristan Fourmy will take office on January 1, 2026.
His path is classic: he followed the first and then the second cycle at the École du Louvre, where he prepared for the heritage curator competition. During his first cycle, he also completed a degree in history at the University of Paris-Nanterre. He then specialized in the history of 18th century French art. During his curatorial studies, he gained many professional experiences: in France, as part of the team planning the future Musée du Grand Siècle, he worked on the Pierre Rosenberg donation. Abroad, he spent several months at the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, where he contributed to the exhibition “To the Sea! Tourism and the Visual Arts” (Towards the sea! Tourism and visual arts).
Upon leaving the National Heritage Institute (INP) in 2025, Tristan Fourmy joined the scientific team of the Sens museums as a curator to take over as director a few weeks later. This rapid promotion is not an isolated case. Several young conservatives, leaving the INP, find themselves in management positions from their first job. As pointed out, in The Arts JournalRémi de Raphélis (32 years old), director of the Boulogne-Billancourt museums since January 2025: “Out of my class of 17 students, 12 have director responsibilities.”
The Archiepiscopal Palace of Sens houses the town museum.
The museums of Sens include the Sens Museum itself, the Treasury of Sens Cathedral which preserves pieces such as the shrouds of Saint Siviard, Saint Wolf and Saint Colombe, but also a collection of goldwork and enamels and the (small) Archaeological Museum of Sénonais. The museum has been installed since 1985 in the former palace of the archbishops of Sens. In 2021, an exhibition room was dedicated to Napoleon incorporating works related to the Emperor.
Museum attendance has been declining since 2012 (-49%). The Covid period further accentuated this trend with -32% between 2019 and 2022. (5) While many local museums regained their audiences after the pandemic, the Musée de Sens did not benefit from this rebound. This can be explained by the lack of renewal of its museum offering since its opening. The challenge now is to revive public interest in its collections. For this, the establishment is investing in its modernization project with a budget of 1.2 million euros: bringing the new infrastructures up to standard (security, surveillance), new scenography and adding digital mediation tools. The project also includes the restoration of the 18th century Orangerie pavilion for a budget of 420,000 euros. The reopening is planned for January 2026. Tristan Fourmy takes up his duties at an important time for the site. He will have to finalize the scientific and cultural project (PSC) on the basis of the prefiguration carried out in 2024. He is responsible for a team of around fifteen agents.
Tristan Fourmy succeeds Benjamin Fendler, director of museums since 2024. Benjamin Fendler was director of the castles of Sully sur Loire and Chamerolles for twelve years. At the age of 48, in January 2026 he will take over as director of the Musée du Pays de Sarrebourg, in Lorraine.
