Founded over 175 years ago, the house of Hermès is enriched by its long history, and by a commitment to humanist values that has underpinned its development from the outset – values that are best defined as a shared vision, handed down over five generations of directors. A vision based on the harmonious, coherent development of the house’s financial, human and cultural capital. Each generation of directors – and now the sixth – has carried forward, simply and in its own way, the belief that a business that makes nothing but money is poor indeed: that a truly successful business must also know how to “add value” in human and cultural terms.
Our commitment to support men and women working outside our own immediate sphere of activity is, then, nothing new.
Over time, that commitment has been formalised and consolidated, culminating in the creation of the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès in 2008.
The projects we support resonate with the core values of the world of Hermès: the promotion of traditional craft skills, support for the creative arts, a commitment to education and training, and environmental concerns.
May our tradition of disinterested, open, responsive patronage continue, testifying to our humanist, philanthropic values.
—Pierre-Alexis Dumas
Our vocation
The Fondation d’entreprise Hermès supports people and organisations seeking to learn, perfect, transmit and celebrate the skills and creativity that shape and inspire our lives today, and into the future. Guided by our central focus on artisan expertise and creative artistry in the context of society’s changing needs, the Foundation’s activities explore two complementary avenues: know-how and creativity, know-how and the transmission of skills.
The Foundation supports partner organisations across the globe. At the same time, we develop and administer our own projects in the contemporary visual arts (exhibitions and artists’ residencies), the performing arts (the New Settings programme), design (the Prix Émile Hermès international design award), craftsmanship (the Skills Academy), and biodiversity.
The Foundation’s unique mix of programmes and support is rooted in a single, underlying belief: Our gestures define us.
