Marrakech – The Académie des beaux-arts elected former UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay as a member of its section des membres libres. The institution announced the decision on Wednesday following its plenary session.
Azoulay, the daughter of André Azoulay, senior advisor to King Mohammed VI, takes “fauteuil IV.” The seat was previously held by Muriel Mayette-Holtz, who moved to the academy’s filmmaking section. At the same session, French television presenter and heritage advocate Stéphane Bern was elected to “fauteuil III,” left vacant after the death of Hugues R. Gall in 2024.
Under the academy’s statutes, both elections require approval from the President of the French Republic, who serves as the institution’s protector.
Born in 1972, Azoulay is of Moroccan Jewish descent and holds degrees from Université Paris-Dauphine and Sciences Po Paris. She is also a graduate of the École nationale d’administration.
She began her career in public administration, working on the regulation and financing of public broadcasting. She then joined France’s Centre national du cinéma in 2006. At the CNC, she held several leadership positions focused on the codification of cinema law and the adaptation of creative financing to digital transformation.
From 2014 to 2016, she served as cultural advisor to the French president. In that capacity, she championed the protection of cultural heritage in conflict zones as a priority of France’s international agenda. That effort led to the creation of ALIPH, the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage.
Appointed Minister of Culture in February 2016, Azoulay oversaw the adoption of a law on freedom of creation, architecture, and heritage. The legislation enshrined creative freedom as a fundamental right. It established “sites patrimoniaux remarquables” (SPR), modernized protections for UNESCO World Heritage properties, and introduced a label for contemporary architecture.
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She also advanced reforms in the performing arts sector, ticketing data transparency, and the regime of intermittent entertainment workers.
Azoulay led UNESCO from 2017 to 2025, serving two full terms. Her tenure saw the launch of the “Revive the Spirit of Mosul” initiative, combining heritage restoration, educational recovery, and social cohesion.
Under her direction, UNESCO adopted the first global normative framework on the ethics of artificial intelligence in 2021. She also expanded the organization’s emergency response capacity in conflict zones and strengthened its work on recognizing and preserving African cultural heritage.
She currently chairs the Fondation La France s’engage, a public-interest foundation dedicated to social innovation.
The section des membres libres now comprises nine members: Henri Loyrette, Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, William Christie, Patrick de Carolis, Adrien Goetz, Christophe Leribault, Guy Savoy, Bern, and Azoulay.
The section traces its origins to the section d’histoire et théorie des arts, founded in 1815. It brings together artists not represented in other sections and prominent figures from the world of art and culture.
The Académie des beaux-arts is one of five academies within the Institut de France. It counts 69 members, 16 foreign associate members, and 69 correspondents. The institution supports artistic creation through prizes, competitions, artist residencies, and grants. It also serves as a consultative body on artistic matters for French public authorities.
