Allen & Overy’s Luxembourg office interest in funding the arts first started with music, when the law firm’s offices were still located close to the Luxembourg City Conservatoire in Merl. That involved sponsoring musicians from the jazz section of the music school to create their own compositions and it culminated in a concert at the Philharmonie.
But when the firm moved to Kirchberg it seemed logical to get involved with the biannual Private Art Kirchberg event that sees companies and institution open their art collections to the public for a day.
“Initially we went for painting,” explains the firm’s office senior partner Patrick Mischo. “We even commissioned a piece from Fernand Bertemes, who is pretty well-known in Luxembourg.” But the feeling in the firm was that its commitment to the arts still lacked a coherent concept, especially as the partners were keen to set up a programme to finance art.
The firm approached well-known Luxembourg art gallery owner Alex Reding for inspiration. “So we did some brainstorming with him and we came up with the idea to go into video art, because that would actually be a differentiating factor.”
From the start there was this idea to partner up with Mudam and to purchase a couple of pieces, and then actually to donate them to the museum.
Even though video art is often less accessible than other fine art disciplines like painting or sculpture, the idea was taken on board. “But we wanted to do more than merely purchase art,” Mischo explains.
Ten years, ten works for Mudam
“Sometimes people approach it as an investment. But from the start there was this idea to partner up with Mudam and to purchase a couple of pieces, and then actually to donate them to the museum.” That process has been ongoing for close to ten years and the business law firm has so far donated ten video art works. The plan was always to buy one work a year, Mischo explains. “But it very much depends on whether you identify a piece which is of interest and then, obviously, there's a process you need to go through with negotiating the price, and so forth.”
The decision process is done in association with Mudam, though Mischo admits that the museum does take the lead in selecting maybe a couple of potential works. “They want to build a collection that has some coherence in terms of the choices.” But Alex Reding serves as an advisor. “The museum typically expresses a preference for one of the pieces and unless we see any other types of problem, let's say, reputation concerns, then we would obviously agree.”
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For this year’s Private Art Kirchberg, the Allen & Overy premises will host four works from its collection on special screens and in its auditorium. “Video is slightly more tricky than displaying a painting,” says Mischo. “Obviously you have to present it in an environment that is adequate and also fits the vision of the artist.”
The works on show include those by Luxembourgish-French artist Brognon Rollin, German video artist Julika Rudelius, Canadian artist based in London Mark Lewis, and Mexican artist Gonzalo Lebrija. The work by Rudelius--Forever, from 2006--was selected by Mudam director Bettina Steinbrügge as her “coup de Coeur” among the works Allen & Overy is showing at Private Art Kirchberg. Steinbrügge has chosen one favourite from the works on show at each of the institutions taking part in the event.
The three works below are among the ten Allen & Overy’s Luxembourg office has donated to Mudam.
Fellowship programme
The law firm also organises guided tours at Mudam for its teams and, outside of covid restrictions, regularly hosts lunch and art events at the museum, just across the boulevard JF Kennedy.
Indeed, when the law firm moved to its current location in the Infinity building, the partnership with Mudam intensified Mischo explains. “We're practically neighbours now.” That meant sponsoring a fellowship at the museum, at the suggestion of then Mudam director Suzanne Cotter.
The fellowship was something new for the museum, and we liked the idea of doing something innovative
Typically younger professionals from around the world, the recipient of the fellowship conducts research on the impact of recent and emerging technologies on contemporary practice.
“The fellowship was something new for the museum, and we liked the idea of doing something innovative,” says Mischo. The first recipient of the fellowship was Lauren Wetmore in 2019. The latest incumbent, Line Ajan, who has masters degrees in art history, criticism and conservation from the University of Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne, started her time at Mudam in May 2022. She had completed a previous fellowship at MCA Chicago.
“The new technologies angle is interesting because if you look at what's happening, also in social media, media, generally, it makes sense to add that component to their research,” Mischo concludes.