It is a daring and caring initiative that is being played out in one of our favorite hotels on the French Riviera, the family-run Canopy by Hilton overlooking the azure blue waters of Cannes, a city celebrated for its sunshine, beach, international film festival and most recently its international yacht festival. which drew to a close on September 13th. From here, art collector and the former director of the Canopy by Hilton in Cannes Nathalie Esnée launched Nouvelle Vague, meaning New Wave like the French film movement, an endowment fund for contemporary artists. It is an initiative that is powered by the notion that art should be part of everyday life, should interact with its surroundings and should be accessible to all. The project transforms a hotel —the Canopy by Hilton in Cannes — into an art world of its own. Called the Biennale en Chambre (The In-Room Biennial) and being held for the second time in 2026 after a successful 2024 run, the hotel room and its public spaces open up to artworks that are financed by the endowment. 

Every two years the endowment marshals into action some 400,000 euros to assist at least 12 artists with each artist receiving 10,000 euros, the entire cost of their project and expert assistance. The result: works of art that are present in the Canopy by Hilton hotel in Cannes for two years.  The art works belong to the artists; 80% are returned to them, 10% are retained to be auctioned off at a charity auction and 10% is used to support the longevity of the endowment.

Each work in this collective « show » entitled Horizons, has been conceived with a room or space at the Canopy by Hilton Cannes in mind, and are not just decorative but rather the work of an artist to be confronted, interpreted. And so guests and visitors to the hotel will find themselves face to face with contemporary art works. The charity auction to be held once the two-year show is over is organized on line in partnership with the Artmajeur platform and the association La Source, initiated by the artists Elisabeth et Gérard Garouste, and which helps youngsters who are struggling socially or economically by providing art workshops. Artmajeur is an international art and tech platform founded by Maurice Lévy. Meanwhile the endowment’s founder, Nathalie Esnée who devotes herself now solely to the Nouvelle Vague project, has turned over the helm of the Canopy by Hilton to her son, Nicolas, retaining the family-owned character of the hotel. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette