ABCD / in a few words

The abcd foundation (art brut connaissance & diffusion), governed by the law of 1901, aims to make art brut known to a wide audience both in France and abroad, by organizing events and exhibitions, publishing books and other editorial supports as well as producing films.

Started in the mid-1970s, the abcd / Bruno Decharme collection now comprises 6,000 pieces and 420 artists from the mid-19th century to the present day. It brings together works from many countries, produced in psychiatric hospitals or in the solitude of cities and in the countryside as well as the so-called spiritualist productions and folk art objects that escape the traditional norms.

This unique assembly of works prolongs the collections and research of pioneering psychiatrists such as Hans Prinzhorn, artists and writers such as André Breton, creations that Jean Dubuffet theorized in 1945 under the concept of art brut.

Bruno Decharme is not only  a collector and a filmmaker, but also the founder of abcd, having opened his collection to the public in 1999. abcd is a kind of  laboratory, exploring ART BRUT based on the works and artists in the COLLECTION. abcd communicates through PUBLICATIONS, EXHIBITIONS and the production of FILMS.

Since 2011, abcd has enriched its editorial line by partnering with the Collège International de Philosophie and created a series of conferences devoted to art brut, which took place over six years and were led by Barbara Safarova. Thanks to the presence of pioneering guests and researchers from all backgrounds and disciplines, abcd has thus participated in a critical reflection on the concept of art brut.

abcd has been active in a number of countries through its field research and exhibitions. In 2003 we have established a sister foundation in Prague, Czech Republic.

In 2004 abcd opened its own exhibition space: abcd gallery.

Barbara Safarova/ president of abcd, Paris
Terezie Zemankova / president of abcd, Prague