Mohamed Bouabdallah, Villa Albertine: “We’re in fixed innovation”

Earlier than turning into a cultural advisor to the French Embassy in the US and director of the Villa Albertineyou had been based in Egypt between 2016 and 2019. How did this expertise put together you in your present missions?

I’m a profession diplomat and had the pleasure of being a cultural advisor in Egypt and director of theFrench Institute of Egypt. This mission was notably attention-grabbing due to Egypt’s thousand-year historical past and its deep ties to France. Egypt and France have an extended love story, with ups and downs. This mission taught me lots about my function and its three pillars: the event of creative and cultural exchanges and the dialogue of concepts, the academic query particularly the function of France in French colleges and Egyptian colleges, and at last the cooperation educational and analysis. .

Throughout my mission in Egypt, we had been in a position to maintain a French-Egyptian cultural season in 2019 throughout the a hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Suez Canal and we opened two new French establishments, in New Cairo in 2018 and in Sheikh Zayed in in 2020. additionally constructed a brand new web site for the French College of Egypt (UFE) which is able to initially home 3,000 college students and, ultimately, 7,000 college students. This mission was intensive and ready me for these new actions in the US.

A fallen tree on the Villa Albertine (credit score Beowulf Sheehan)

How do you see the range of Franco-American exchanges in all of the areas you talked about?

The historical past between France and the US is more moderen as a result of we are going to quickly be celebrating 250 years of the nation’s independence. We’re two pleasant and pleasant nations. France performed an essential function in serving to the American individuals achieve their independence. The US stood with us throughout each world wars. This 12 months we’re going to have a good time the eightieth anniversary of the D-Day landings. Our historical past could be very sturdy, even when, there too, there have been ups and downs. These hyperlinks are additionally seen within the academic, cultural and educational fields. L’Harlem Renaissance exhibition, at the moment going down on the MET, is direct testimony to this. It reveals that the “revival” of African-American artwork occurred by fixed trade with France, whether or not in Paris or the West Indies.

Our residences are unfold throughout your complete American area

We’re in a interval of renewed creative exchanges between our two nations. It isn’t for nothing that, inside the framework of the Villa Albertine, yearly, 60 French artists, creators and intellectuals wish to cross the Atlantic, to assume, create and to immerse himself in what’s in the US at the moment in its variety. We now have over 500 candidates! Our residences are unfold everywhere in the American territory, within the ten cities the place Villa Albertine is current, but in addition in the remainder of the American territories: in Alaska, in Puerto Rico , within the desert in Marfa, Texas… a view of French creators on the US but in addition, by the connections established there, of our American companions on French creation.

Villa Albertine in San Francisco (credit score: Leslie Williamson)

How is your residency program modern?

The residential venture at Villa Albertine is modern as a result of we’re at all times innovating. The circumstances for making use of are very liberal to permit candidates to precise their creativity, in all creative and mental fields and all through the US. Then again, the choice course of could be very strict. The jury is chaired by MOMA director Glenn Lowry, a significant determine within the cultural world of America and the world. We additionally produce other distinguished members on the jury, akin to Laurent Le Bon, president of the Heart Pompidou.

All of the initiatives are very completely different and we’re there to assist and information them. The US is a continental nation and the completely different topics provided replicate this variety. After dwelling in San Francisco, Alain Damasiothe very best French science fiction creator, has printed Vallée du Silicium, the primary work within the Albertine assortment at Editions du Seuil.

One other instance, the visible artist Olivier Beerengaged on an acoustic map of New York.

Raphael Barontiniwho lived in New Orleans in 2024, a particular exhibition on the Pantheon and at the moment explores the creativeness of Creole cultures and processions, to create a collaborative exhibition in a public area, at a crossroads within the visible arts and music.

I’ve traveled lots since I got here. I used to be in a position to journey to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Washington, Boston and shortly Atlanta, Houston and New Orleans. There is no such thing as a metropolis prefer it. We now have simply reviewed the submissions for 2025 and I can let you know that each one the initiatives are completely different and the artists are in contact with the occasions. By means of a wide range of topics (structure, literature, music, cinema, visible arts, portray, dwell efficiency, and many others.), they talk about up to date matters: ecology, city planning and even social points akin to questions of variety . In our choice, we guarantee distribution throughout the US and respect equality.

The map of the presence of the Villa Albertine in the US (credit score Studio Des Signes)

How do you coordinate actions throughout the US?

My major duty is to make sure an general imaginative and prescient and technique. The Villa Albertine staff members are wonderful, skilled and devoted professionals. My function is, fairly modestly, to convey this gathering to life round a really sturdy and unifying venture whose major goal is to resume the Franco-American alliance by tradition, training, analysis and educational exchanges. And naturally discover the assets to finance our actions.

The Villa Albertine is already very sturdy on the cultural pillar which continues to push the boundaries of creativity, creative trade and dialogue of concepts. To call only a few occasions, we have now simply organized two days of conferences on synthetic intelligence, a topical topic that introduced collectively worldwide consultants. From Might 15 to 21, the Oui Design pageant! it emphasizes craft and design.

By way of training, the initiative French for all, launched by the President of the Republic on the finish of 2022, works very nicely. A whole bunch of public colleges, French college applications and lecturers or future lecturers will profit in 2024 from this initiative that democratizes entry to studying French.

I want to develop educational and analysis exchanges between France and the US.

I’m at the start of my mission and I’m making an attempt to set strategic priorities in order that the Villa Albertine establishment can proceed to develop. I want to pay tribute to my predecessors as every cultural advisor made their contribution. With out going again far in time, Antonin Baudry allowed the opening, ten years in the past, of the Albertine bookstore. Bénédte de Montlaur, who adopted him, did quite a lot of work on the French query and particularly on the creation of bilingual immersion programs in American public colleges. And naturally Gaëtan Bruel was satisfied to create the Villa Albertine residential program.

Personally, I’m working with my groups and our companions and pals to make clear my venture, however I can let you know no doubt that it’ll come across the query of the college. I want to develop educational and analysis exchanges between France and the US to convey collectively tomorrow’s thinkers and leaders: the “subsequent technology” as they are saying right here.