In 2017, we decided to put our expertise at the service of social commitment. Thanks for Nothing is born out of our desire to link the world of contemporary art and that of engagement but also to take action and stop being only a spectator of the situation and the reality of social inequalities. We wanted to become actors of solidarity and change. With Thanks for Nothing, we want to demonstrate that we all have the means to act and that we can all contribute to the construction of a fairer society.
Board members
Anne-Hélène Decaux
President – volunteer
Gagosian, Paris
Panoptes Collection, Bruxelles
Recently ranked among the top ten most influential French women in the art market, Anne-Hélène Decaux has been combining different occupations for fifteen years.
As a specialist in 20th century art, Anne-Hélène Decaux directed the Post-War and Contemporary Art Department at Sotheby’s for over five years, before joining the prestigious Gagosian Gallery in early 2021. Anne-Hélène is also an engaged curator. She began her career at the Aga Khan Foundation, organized several exhibitions for Wild Touch, a French NGO distinguished for its remarkable work in raising public awareness about climate change, and since 2020 she has been developing artistic projects for Panoptes, a non-profit initiative based in Brussels. Anne-Hélène has been President of Thanks for Nothing since the beginning of 2021.
Laurent Le Bon
Vice-president – Volunteer
President of the Centre Pompidou
General Heritage Curator, Laurent Le Bon was in charge of the public procurement at the Délégation aux arts plastiques (Plastic Arts Delegation) of the Ministry of Culture, before becoming curator at the Musée National d’Art Moderne, Center Georges Pompidou, from 2000 to 2010. He has curated some fifty exhibitions and wrote the related books, including “Dada” at the Centre Pompidou, “Jeff Koons Versailles” at the Château de Versailles, “Gardens” at the National Galleries of the Grand Palais, “Dioramas” at the Palais de Tokyo and “Picasso. Bleu et rose” at the Musée d’Orsay. From 2008 to 2014, he directed the Centre Pompidou-Metz where he curated the exhibitions ” Chef-d’oeuvre ? ” and “1917”. He was designated President of the Musée National Picasso-Paris from June 2014 until 2021. Since June 2021, he has been President of the Centre Pompidou.
Blanche de Lestrange
Co-founder – volunteer
Artistic Director of the Art Explora Foundation
From September 2020, Blanche is the Artistic Director of the Art Explora Foundation. From 2010 to 2020, Blanche developed and directed the FIAC’s Hors les murs programs, which included tours of artworks presented at the Tuileries, the National Museum of Natural History, the banks of the Seine, Place Vendôme, the Petit Palais and the Maison de la Radio. Each year, these tours offer more than 60 works of art, accessible to all and installed in the public space. Blanche also directs programmes of performances, dance, artists’ films and conferences in collaboration with major institutions such as the Louvre Museum, the Palais de la Découverte, and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris. She has also been associate curator of the performance programme “À Rebours” at the Silencio and “L’Eveil du Printemps” for the Toulouse International Festival, le Printemps de Septembre.
Anaïs de Senneville
Development Director – volunteer
Patrons’ Program Manager at Museum of Modern Art of Paris
In 2014, she joined the Galerie Max Hetzler and coordinated their launch in France, from the opening of the gallery to the production of exhibitions and sales.
In 2012, she assisted Marie-Laure Bernadac and Pauline Guelaud in the contemporary art department of the Musée du Louvre and worked on the exhibitions’ production from 2012 to 2015, most particularly on Michelangelo Pistoletto’s exhibition in 2013.
In parallel, Anaïs was involved in different nonprofit cultural organisations as L’Envolée Bleue and OArt, supporting students in building artistic events in Paris. She had developed strong relationships within the cityhall of Paris and founded a public art gallery where she exhibited works of very young artists, such as the students of L’Ecole des Beaux Arts de Paris (Atelier Tayou).
Charlotte von Stotzingen
Co-founder
– volunteer
Director of the Zurich Art Weekend
Co-founder of Startup Lions
Charlotte is currently leading the development and launch of the Zurich Art Weekend. This major cultural event, initiated and organized in collaboration with the most important museums, art centers, and galleries of Zurich, will take place from June 8th until June 10th 2018, the weekend preceding the opening of Art Basel. In 2015, Charlotte co-founded a social impact-focused venture in Turkana (Kenya), one of the poorest and most remote regions of East Africa. It encompasses Learning Lions, a nonprofit coding school, Digital Lions, a fairtrade IT-outsourcing agency and Startups Lions, a social incubator for digital startups. Thanks to her engagement on the field, she developed a first-hand knowledge of sustainable development challenges. She previously worked for 5 years as director of research and exhibitions & external relations manager at Blondeau & Cie, Geneva. This advisory office in impressionist, modern and contemporary art sources historical masterpieces for museums and major collections. Charlotte lives and works in Zurich, Switzerland.
Team
Marine Van Schoonbeek
General Director and Co-founder
From 2017 to 2021, Marine Van Schoonbeek was President and Co-founder of Thanks for Nothing and has directed all of its projects. Since February 2021, she is General Director of the organization. Meanwhile, she teaches at Sciences Po and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Primo Levi Center.
From 2015 to 2018, Marine was Director of the Galerie Chantal Crousel, in charge of development, relations and sales to institutions and international collectors. From 2012 to 2015, Marine directed relations with FIAC collectors and institutions. For 3 years, she developed the entire VIP program in partnership with 200 institutions, foundations and private collections internationally. From 2009 to 2012, she was in charge of public relations and patronage at the Centre Pompidou-Metz, where she developed the policy of fundraising and coordinated the official inauguration of the venue, the first cultural institution of this scale to be relocated in France. In 2008, she was a special assistant to Robert Fitzpatrick, Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, where she analyzed the structure of American cultural institutions.
Gaëlle Porte
Director of Projects
From 2019 to 2021, Gaëlle Porte is Assistant Director of Council.art (carried by Kadist). She was simultaneously volunteer with Thanks for Nothing before officially joining the team in Janurary 2022 as Director of Projects. Before then, she curated six independent exhibitions between Paris and New York focusing on emerging artists. From 2011 to 2014, she ran the studio of artist Prune Nourry in New York. She was also an artist liaison at Kukje Gallery in NY. In addition, Gaëlle was the manager of the Clark Institute’s international exhibition Masterpiece Tour in partnership with the Prado Museum in Madrid and the Royal Academy in London among others. She started her career at Sotheby’s in the contemporary art department from 2005 to 2009.
Gaëlle holds a Master’s degree in Political Arts from the School of Public Affairs at Sciences Po Paris and a B.A. in Art History and International Relations from the University of Southern California.
Anne-Sarah Bénichou
Projects Director
Founder of Galerie Anne-Sarah Bénichou
Anne-Sarah Bénichou is the director of the eponymous gallery she founded in the Marais in Paris, after a double training in Art History and Literature as well as several experiences in the art market, in auction houses as well as galleries. She represents French and international contemporary artists, both emerging and established. She organizes solo or group exhibitions in partnership with curators, philosophers and writers, which often come with catalogues. She is also a member of the board of the Paris Gallery Week-end and the board of directors of the CPGA.
Amandine Legrand
Communication and Development Manager
Graduated in Creative and Cultural Industries Management from ISC Paris and in Art History from the Sorbonne, Amandine Legrand developed an in-depth knowledge of the world of philanthropy and confirmed her passion for contemporary creation after working with the Friends of the Palais de Tokyo.
For four years, she orchestrated the actions of the ADIAF and the Marcel Duchamp Prize alongside its President, then spent the next five years coordinating the corporate, digital and media relations communications strategy for a varied portfolio of players committed to art within the “l’art en plus” agency, before joining the Thanks for Nothing teams in November 2023.
Théo Ciora
Administrative and Financial Manager – Freelance
Théo is a museographer and a project manager of cultural projects, specialising in temporary and permanent exhibitions.
Théo has been active in a number of Parisian institutions, including the Maison Rouge, the Jeu de Paume and the Centre Pompidou. In particular, he was in charge of production for temporary exhibitions at the musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac for 5 years.
Théo has also been involved in the production of major cultural events such as FIAC and Nuit Blanche. At the agence Eva Albarran, he assisted artist Christian Boltanski with the organisation of his international exhibitions.
Théo Ciora graduated from the École du Louvre with a master’s degree in art history and museology. He is particularly interested in anthropological and societal themes, contemporary architecture, and design.
Hélène de Montalembert
Project Manager – Intern
They participated in our projects and we’d like to thank them :
Bethsabée Attali, José Carlos Aguilar Gómez, Alice Bellanger, Violette Bérard, Agathe de Bourmont, Charlotte Cailler, Louise Conesa, María Crevatin, Paula Delaplace, Anaïs Delort, Juliette Dumazy, Clarisse Dumazy, Joséphine de Fontaines, Elisa Francesconi, John Galand, Aurore Garçia, Aleksis García Fernández, Lili Gay, Claire Gonnard, Lara Hajar, Jeanne Holsteyn, Katarina Jansdottir, Marion José, Anne Kalaydjian, Marie Kerfriden, Aline Knell, Ella Marder, Lucia Nakamoto, Camille Patureau, Agathe Pinet, Clémence Prud’homme, Valentine Rofman, Camille Ruault, Raphaëlle Sassi, Suzanna Vallejo Gómez, Helena Brockmeier and Lohana Schein.
