Porosus & Thanks for Nothing
“Emerging Artists from Here and Elsewhere”
Arda Asena © Eugene Tang
Frederik Exner © Nikolaj Exner
Anne Simin Shitrit © Maïa Aboualiten
A new program supporting international artistic creation
Launched by the Porosus Endowment Fund and Thanks for Nothing, this annual program supports 3 emerging international artists based in France. By providing financial support, tailored guidance, and institutional visibility, the initiative aims to highlight and celebrate the richness of international artistic creation within France.
The 3 Awardees for 2025
• Arda Asena – Tapestry and Textile Arts (Turkey)
• Frederik Exner – Sculpture (Denmark)
• Anne Simin Shitrit – Photography (Israel)
The Selection Committee:
• Sophie Lacoste, President, Porosus Endowment Fund
• Muriel Panel, General Delegate, Porosus Endowment Fund
• Aurélie Julien, Founder and Director of Aurélie Julien Collectible, Art and Design Advisor, Collector
• Daria de Beauvais, Senior Curator and Head of International Relations, Palais de Tokyo
• Stéphanie Moisdon, Art Critic, Exhibition Curator, Co-director of Le Consortium (Contemporary Art Center in Dijon), and Head of Master of Visual Arts at ECAL (École cantonale d’art de Lausanne).
• Loïc Garrier, Director, Galerie Ceysson & Bénétière, Paris
• Niklas Svennung, Co-Owner, Galerie Chantal Crousel
• Lotfi Ouanezar, General Director, EMMAÜS Solidarité
• Marine Van Schoonbeek, General Director and Co-founder
• Gaëlle Porte, Director of Projects
• Antoinette Vincent, Project Manager for Artistic Programs, Thanks for Nothing
Artist Support
• Creative support: Each artist receives a €5,000 grant to produce a new work or further develop an ongoing project.
• Professional guidance: The artists are supported by the Thanks for Nothing team in developing and promoting their artistic practice.
• Public presentation: The artists’ work will be showcased in an institutional setting, through an exhibition, workshop, or public event.
• Encounters and dialogue: Dedicated moments of exchange will be organized with the Porosus Endowment Fund team and the program’s partners.
Arda Asena
Born in 1992 in Turkey, Arda Asena explores abstraction as a means of accessing the emotions, desires and contradictions that cross the human experience.
Their practice views queerness as a gateway to alternative ways of being and living together. Through a visual language informed by the idea of a secret eroticism, they examine queer survival strategies in the face of social and cultural violence.
Frederik Exner
Born in 1991 in Denmark, Frederik Exner lives and works in Paris. He has developed a practice in sculpture and the visual arts centred on fictional mythologies and hybrid creatures, exploring the relationship between culture and nature. Working with acrylic resin, clay, concrete and other materials, he takes an experimental approach to volume, material and texture.
© jcLett
© jcLett
Anne Simin Shitrit
Born in 1994 in Israel, Anne lives and works in Paris. A photographer and visual artist, she explores issues of identity, belonging and memory through analogue photography. Her portraits and landscapes, taken in conflict-torn regions, reveal the connections between individuals, places and collective narratives. For her, photography is a space of suspension, a pause amidst the chaos.
© Anne Simin Shitrit
© Anne Simin Shitrit
Exhibition
Arda Assena, Frederik Exner, Anne Simin Shitrit – La Roche, Paris
1 July 2026 – 4 July 2026
The exhibition at La Roche brings together works developed as part of this programme, highlighting the quality of the research carried out and the diversity of the artistic approaches adopted.
Open from Wednesday 1 to Saturday 4 July 2026
At La Roche, at the following times :
Wednesday – Opening: 5.00 pm – 9.00 pm
Thursday: 4.00 pm – 9.00 pm
Friday: 4.00 pm – 9.00 pm
Saturday: 12.00 pm – 9.00 pm