The New Carlsberg Foundation is a private and independent foundation for the arts. The effort to foster and benefit the arts in the founders’ fatherland forms the core of the foundation’s charter, which was signed on 20 January 1902 by brewer Carl Jacobsen and his wife, Ottilia Jacobsen.
In this context, ‘arts’ is understood not only as pictorial arts but also includes industrial art, architecture and landscape gardening ‒ and in the broadest sense, that is, also where expressions from the pictorial arts connect with related art forms and contexts.
The foundation, whose charter and activities are still shaped by Carl Jacobsen’s passion and energy, aims to promote the role of art in Danish society, based on the conviction that art has the capacity to enrich human life and our world. The foundation wishes to be a dynamo in highlighting art as a force capable of promoting critical thinking and a nuanced worldview.
The New Carlsberg Foundation differs from many other foundations by being under professional leadership. It is headed by a board, comprising three members, one of whom is chairman of the board. The chairman is employed by the board full-time, while the two other members serve on the board alongside other occupation, again, typically within the arts.
The foundation’s board:
Christine Buhl Andersen, chair of the board
Stine Høholt
Toke Lykkeberg
Anders Byriel
The board meets approximately every three weeks to review received applications.
As the overarching foundation, the Carlsberg Foundation holds a controlling interest in the Carlsberg breweries. However, the foundation is required to pass a portion of the proceeds from its shares on to the New Carlsberg Foundation.
The New Carlsberg Foundation’s grants (totalling some DKK 195 million in 2022) fall into three main categories: donations of works of art to museums, decorative projects and art research, while a non-earmarked fund is available for other art-related purposes.