The publication of the final observations of the Court of Auditors on the management of the National Center for Visual Arts (CNAP) for the period 2016-2024 will not go unnoticed. The financial control institution has made a resounding recommendation: the abolition of the CNAP by 2030 and the distribution of its missions between the Ministry of Culture, the Center Pompidou, the depository museums and the Regional Contemporary Art Funds (FRAC).
The report of the Court of Auditors highlights an economic model of the CNAP considered unviable and missions “insufficiently fulfilled”. The operator, heir to a state policy of supporting creation since the Revolution, suffers from structural weaknesses and a lack of performance.
The CNAP, which manages 108,000 works from the National Contemporary Art Fund (FNAC), has seen its acquisition policy change “massier” since 1981, switching to a logic according to the Court of“accumulation” or “collection for the collection”. Direct consequence: its essential mission of dissemination has stalled. Only 43.7% of the collection is shown, and around a quarter of the acquired works have never left the reserves. This accumulation poses a “growing reserves problem”leading to storage costs that become unreasonable.
The management of the establishment is judged “extremely heavy and fragile”. Operating expenses (€12.8 million in 2024, excluding staff made available) are disproportionate compared to the credits allocated directly to the missions (€5.4 million). The real estate project for the Pantin site, intended to consolidate the reserves by 2027, illustrates this costly management. Its cost has doubled to reach nearly €98 million including tax. The Court also points to serious dysfunctions in administrative management, in particular the purchasing function exposed to high risks of irregularities in public procurement. Finally, the Court notes that the CNAP has not demonstrated the effectiveness of its aid on the careers of artists.
The Ministry of Culture, as one suspects, does not accept the recommendation for deletion. The minister argues that the removal would not lead to significant savings and would risk weakening the visibility of state policy in favor of the visual arts. On the contrary, the ministry wishes to reposition the CNAP as “the leading establishment in the promotion and international enhancement of the French scene”. The upcoming installation in Pantin, although costly, is seen as a lever to intensify the dissemination of the collection, an objective which will be included in the establishment’s next objectives contract.
