Fondation


Curators

The curators oversee the collections. Experts in their respective fields, they also act as curators for off-site exhibitions.

Dr Xavier Droux

Curator
Archaeology Collection

Xavier Droux studied Egyptology at the University of Geneva (1999-2005) before completing his DPhil at the University of Oxford (UK). He is currently an Academic Fellow at the University of Geneva. His primary interest lies in the predynastic period in Egypt. He has been a senior member of the Ashmolean Museum’s Hierakonpolis Expedition (Egypt) since 2003. He is also researching the ancient cultures of Sudan, where is directs the Swiss-French-Sudanese archaeological mission at Kerma - Dukki Gel since 2022 together with Séverine Marchi (CNRS). Upon his return in Switzerland, he joined the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art in 2020. He remains involved in research on predynastic Egypt and contributes, among other things, to the publication of the C-Group Nubian cemetery excavated at Hierakonpolis.

Dr Isabelle Tassignon

Curator
Archaeology and Ethnology Collections

Isabelle Tassignon joined the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art in 2015. Born in Soignies (Belgium) in 1964, she holds a PhD in the History of Art and Archaeology from the University of Liège and a degree in History of Religions from the same university. Since 2005, she is lecturer lectured at the University of Namur (Belgium), where she teaches the iconology of Antiquity. As a former foreign member of the French School of Archaeology at Athens, she continues her field activities at the site of Amathus (Cyprus) and contributes to the publication of the excavations of its palace. What’s more, the "Master of the Lions" - the monstrous dwarf-sized god of Amathus - no longer holds any secrets for her, since she has published several works on this inexhaustible subject. In addition to her new interests in ethnology and the call of the sea, she still pursues her earlier passions, Dionysus and the gods of Roman Anatolia. She is currently preparing the publication of the classical collections held by the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art.

Bertrand Dumas

Curator
Fine Arts Collection

After graduating from the Paris-Sorbonne University and the École du Louvre, Bertrand Dumas taught art history and valuation techniques at the International Studies in History and Business of Art and Culture(Paris, London) from 2006 to 2011. In parallel, as a specialist in historic paintings and drawings, he worked with the Claude Aguttes auction house (Paris-Lyon) before moving to Switzerland in 2011 to specialise in the conservation, documentation and valuation of private collections. A contributor to L'ŒIL magazine, he has published numerous articles since 2006 on ancient, modern and contemporary art. Bertrand Dumas joined the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art in 2018.

 

Yan Schubert

Curator
Fine Arts Collection

Yan Schubert studied Humanities and then International Relations in Geneva, Berlin and Paris. He taught at the Universities of Geneva and Lausanne (2003-2011), before becoming a research associate at HEAD-Genève (2012-2015). Since joining the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art in 2011, he has notably been responsible for a project at EPFL (construction of a museum space and exhibition on Pierre Soulages) and has contributed to the publication of a catalogue on narrative figuration. The author of scientific and popular articles on cultural history and heritage, he is also involved in several editorial and association committees.

Dr Fabienne Fravalo

Curator
Decorative Arts Collection

Born in Nantes (France) in 1980, Fabienne Fravalo jointly studied Literature and Art History at the Sorbonne and at the École du Louvre. A specialist in the history and criticism of the decorative arts, she presented her doctoral thesis at the University of Neuchâtel on the journal Art et Décoration (1897-1914), which was awarded the 2016 Musée d'Orsay Prize. A researcher at INHA (Paris), she has also taught at the Jean Moulin-Lyon III University. She joined the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art in 2015.

Olivia Fahmy

Curator
Collection of African Contemporary Art and of the Diaspora

Specialized in contemporary art, and more specifically in photography, Olivia Fahmy is the author of several texts published in scientific catalogs, art magazines and exhibition catalogs. Previously associate curator at the Musée d’art de Pully (Switzerland) and later in charge of publications at the Centre de la photographie Genève, she has regularly worked as a curator in Switzerland and abroad since 2014. Olivia holds a Master's degree in art history and history and a Bachelor's degree in political science and art history from the universities of Lausanne and Bern. She is currently pursuing a postgraduate specialization in postcolonial studies and aesthetic theory at Goldsmiths College, University of London. 

Staff

The Fondation is made up of a close-knit team, responsible for overseeing and managing the artworks that make up its collections thanks to an active and dynamic communication.

Anne-Valérie Ecoffey

Assistant Curator Fine Arts Collection

Adeline Lafontaine

Assistant Curator Fine Arts Collection

Dr Aurélie Quirion

Assistant Curator Archaeology Collection

Jacques Besson

Registrar

Lara Broillet

Administrative Assistant

Marie Chatel

Communications Officer

Aïda Falquet

Acquisitions Coordinator

Gilles Humbel

IT Manager

Sylvain Rochat

Loans Coordinator

Caroline Schmidt

Acquisitions Coordinator