Villa San Francisco is a French-founded international space for dialogue between artists and community seeking to connect innovative ideas to solutions that respond to global and local challenges. Today, we speak with Melanie Desliens Flint, a founding member of Villa San Francisco and an integral part of the international Villa Network's expansion to the United States.
Andrea (00:08):
From the Embassy of France in the United States, this is FrancoFiles, a podcast where we explore the unique relationship between France and the U. S. My name is Andrea, and I will be your host. Based in California, Villa San Francisco is a French-founded international space for dialogue between artists, community, and anyone that is seeking to connect innovative ideas to solutions that respond to global or local challenges. Today, we're speaking with Melanie Desliens Flint who is a founding member and an integral part of this newly launched Franco-American project. Thank you, Melanie, for joining us. It's really nice to have you here.
Melanie (00:47):
Thank you, Andrea, for having me.
Andrea (00:49):
So, Melanie, it sounds like an incredible organization to be a part of, especially during a time now where we're all looking for creative solutions to collaborate and create community. What makes San Francisco Villa so different from other entrepreneurial spaces and artists’ residencies?
Melanie (01:07):
Sure. I would say that the Villa San Francisco is born from a conviction shared by the French Consulate in San Francisco, the French-American Cultural Society and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy that you're representing. And that conviction is that the Silicon Valley is, of course, as we all know, the heart of the worldwide innovation, but it's also at the roots of social changes. And while we are facing great challenges–definitely we are affected by gentrification, social inequalities and, of course, the raging fires that we're facing in California that kind of put us at the forefront of climate change–well, while we're facing all those great challenges, the Silicon Valley always managed to reinvent itself, and it's also populated by some of the greatest minds in the world. So for us, it was urgent to create a new platform to reunite those minds, those great people, and to transcend disciplines and think outside of our city's walls and borders. So this conviction translated into the creation of our artists’ residency that you introduced which is one aspect of the Villa San Francisco. And that artists’ residency that is kind of like a next generation because it is turned towards the future. And we invite artists to come here in the Silicon Valley and question our society's greatest challenges and also to integrate and blend within the Silicon Valley's ecosystem by creating exchanges and collaboration, not only with their peers, with other artists, but also with scientists, entrepreneurs and scholars. I would also say that we are a little bit different because of the structure itself of the Villa San Francisco. We kind of designed it as a cultural startup, if you will. It is financed by private funds in partnership with public institution. And this dual management is reflected in its board of directors, for example. Basically the Villa San Francisco is kind of the result of a marriage between the French cultural, diplomatic efficiency in the world and the Silicon Valley's famous agility, if that makes sense.
Andrea (03:37):
Yeah. And from what I've read, the Villa San Francisco is also part of a larger network. It's the Villa network I believe?
Melanie (03:45):
Yep.
Andrea (03:45):
And you have some around the world and Villa San Francisco is the first one in the U.S.?
Melanie (03:51):
Correct. You totally got it right! Throughout its history, France has developed a strong tradition of artists’ residency and recognized basically the important and unique role of artists within our societies. The Villa San Francisco was inspired by the Villa Medici, which is the French art academy in Rome. And it was created by King Louis XIV–so as you can see, it goes way back–who used to send his favorite painters to Rome to study Renaissance artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. They would stay about six years over there, and then, eventually, they would come back to Paris and do things like Versailles. This tradition is still very much alive today. In addition to the Villa Medici, we have the Villa in Spain, Japan, New Zealand, Tunisia, Vietnam, and now for the first time in the United States, we have the Villa San Francisco. The original concept of those artists’ residency was to kind of provide a safe space for artists to create without having to think about, you know, necessities of life, like paying rent, for example. The Villa San Francisco is a bit different in a sense that it acts and lives beyond its physical walls and spreads to the city. We kind of say that the Villa would not exist without its numerous partners. We partner with the universities of Stanford and Berkeley, the public library, radio KQED, the Museum SF MoMA and other corporations as well. I would say the Villa is kind of existing at the crossroad of these institutional, corporate, artistic and scientific partnerships. We basically are asking the artists to get out, to explore and to confront themselves with this new territory and participate actively to the conversation that's happening.
Andrea (05:48):
Absolutely. And I wonder, for those who aren't familiar with the purpose of residency programs, could you explain why they exist, why they're important for artists and collaboration? Obviously, you've explained from the side of Villa San Francisco, what it's providing for the artists, but why is that such an important step for artists?
Melanie (06:11):
Sure. I think if you look at the history for the Villa Medici, for example, there was the prize of Rome, every artist was dreaming to get the prize of Rome and go to Rome. So I think today it's the same thing. It's a great opportunity for artists to take a break from their daily life and to concentrate on their creation. But I think in this moment, and in this next generation of artists’ residency, it's also how the territory and how the Bay Area here is going to benefit from the artists venue. So it's, for me, it's also an exchange because those institutions, the local institution can also benefit from this different perspective that artists are bringing to the table. So for me, it's really a win-win situation. It's not only the artists benefiting, but it's also the territory and the local communities benefiting from their venue.
Andrea (07:08):
And what are the artists like? I'm very curious about the culture of the Villa. What does it look like on the inside? I mean, you in your role, are you just surrounded by good ideas all the time?
Melanie (07:20):
Well I think the artists are very–and we are as well–very excited, especially within, you know, the coronavirus context. It's been a tough year: museums are closed, galleries are closed, so it's been difficult. So first of all, I think they love the space we created for them. We not only wanted to give the Villa a strong and unique identity, but we also wanted to create a place designed by artists for other artists to come. So we partnered with a local designer, Amir Mortazavi, and we imagined a dialogue between French and Californian artists. So as a result, we are super lucky to have art pieces by artists like Agnez Varda, for example, a very famous French filmmaker. She did film the Black Panthers back in the day in Oakland, so we have that to look at. We have also pieces from JR who created the Chronicle of San Francisco mural at the SF MoMA last year. We have art from Nathalie du Pasquier, who did the bedroom wallpaper. We also have local artists like Jane Nelson, who did the light fixtures in the place. We have Yves Behar, a famous designer who did some furniture. So as you can see, we had like lots of input, and as a result, the apartment is very colorful. It's also very much inspired by the pastel palette of Wayne Thiebaud who was a Bay Area figurative artist from the fifties. And there is also a little nod to the Buren Colonnes from the Palais Royale in Paris. So it's a very interesting mix of French-American influences. But one of the situations was that we were supposed to launch and have a first wave of artists coming from France, and as you know with the situation, the borders are closed, so we could not welcome the French artist right away. So we decided to adapt and be agile, and we decided to create micro residencies and invited local, engaged artists to come inaugurate and experience the Villa firsthand for themselves. So we had already a bunch of local artists who came. We had a Cheryl Derricotte who works with paper and glass and is interested in questions around slavery and Jefferson. We had people like ALEXANDMUSHI who are conceptual artists and performers who are interested in the dialogue between bodies. We had Emily Trice who is a feminist filmmaker, interested in climate change and VR. And what was really, really cool with those first artists was that they really make the Villa San Francisco their own. Some of them even exhibited in front of the Villa, on the streets, right in front of us, meeting with people from the neighborhood, creating kind of an unexpected street museum. They also participated in many online panels and interviews. So yes, it's boiling, and then I have to say, it feels good.
Andrea (10:32):
Yeah, I can tell. I mean, if anything these ideas are coming together and figuring out ways to portray art and connect with the community. I really liked the sound of a street museum.
Melanie (10:44):
Oh yes.
Andrea (10:46):
Everyone has gone virtual at this point and I wanted to know with the Villa, do you feel like there are more opportunities now to collaborate with artists and innovators, not just locally, but also all over the world?
Melanie (10:59):
Sure. I would say that's another aspect of the Villa San Francisco, its ambition to influence. First, the Villa will host events, all year round, small and large like the Night of Ideas, which is kind of like a seven-hours debate and performance marathon that was joined by over 5,000 people last year around the theme "Being Alive." We had 17 international speakers and artists come, and it was a tremendous success. So this is a great way for artists and speakers to meet with local communities and debate. I think also the Villa wants to focus on its, what we call, outputs. We want to create benchmarks to invite and empower public and private leaders and institutions to adopt new practices or policies. I think we also want to share our findings and everything we're learning and share our content with everyone and to be accessible, so most of the things are free. We also have an E-MAG, an online magazine where we share things we learn. Now, talking about current projects that we are very excited about, we just announced our first publication and first documentary a couple of weeks ago. It's called Oakland Saint-Denis: Translating Cities and Cultures. And this book is kind of the result of two learning expectations between two cities, with similar assets, challenges and opportunities. We have Saint-Denis on the outskirts of Paris, and we have Oakland on the outskirts of San Francisco. We invited a group of artists, urban planners, entrepreneurs, elected officials and researchers to examine the process of city making and how to best build the cities of tomorrow. Basically, we invited the French in Oakland, and the Americans went to Saint-Denis for a week. And this book kind of is the result of these studies, and the book reaffirmed the need to build cities collectively and to place culture at its heart.
Andrea (13:14):
Oh, definitely. That's something I would be interested in reading. What other projects are happening or are in the works now?
Melanie (13:20):
So one of the big, next steps I would say is that the launch of the Villa San Francisco has been such a success that we are looking at going nationwide. So, that's going to be taking a lot of our time, and we are very excited that the Villa San Francisco is already going to make babies. I can't tell you much more of that.
Andrea (13:44):
Coming soon!
Melanie (13:44):
Yeah, exactly. You'll see other cities embracing the movement, I would say.
Andrea (13:49):
That sounds great. And I was wondering if you could tell us a little bit of what your day-to-day looks like. What is your role within Villa San Francisco?
Melanie (13:57):
Oh, so it's very busy.
Andrea (14:01):
Many hats.
Melanie (14:01):
Many hats. I started working mostly on development, initially developing the mission of the Villa San Francisco, working on the–I come from a marketing background, so I worked a lot on creating the brands, creating the outlook on the future and the business plan for it. And then as a founding member, I think I'm kind of an ambassador a little bit for it, trying to raise money and find partners and get people excited around the project.
Andrea (14:35):
Well, I think you're definitely hitting all the marks.
Melanie (14:38):
Thank you.
Andrea (14:39):
And I wonder too, how does the audience react to this Villa San Francisco, your audience, either locally or what you've heard globally? You must also meet a lot of Francophiles. What do people say when they realize that this is a Franco-American initiative? I mean, what's the relationship to France?
Melanie (14:56):
Well, the reception has been very positive locally and internationally. We had tons of press coverage. We were so happy to be featured in Le Monde, in the Financial Times, a publication like Les Beaux Arts, and also some local news. So they all recognized basically the need of this new platform of dialogue and cross-pollination. I think they understand that if everyone keeps on thinking in silos, we won't solve the crises that our society is facing currently. I think they recognize the strengths of the French diplomacy to gather people from multiple horizons around the same table. I think the local artistic communities are of course, beyond excited to receive our support and for the Francophile, I think they are very proud to see the positive impact of the French diplomacy where they choose to leave. I think also that the French community loves debating. Let's face it–I think it's in the French people's genes to argue.
Andrea (16:05):
I agree.
Melanie (16:05):
We even call it a national sport, so I think they are happy to find a new place to practice, I would say.
Andrea (16:14):
Absolutely. And speaking about cultural diplomacy, I also stumbled across a few of your writings on artwork and art institutions. Following events like the death of George Floyd, you mentioned how most people turn to social media to express themselves. How have you seen the artists or the curators, museums express themselves through events like George Floyd to try to facilitate a change or perspective?
Melanie (16:40):
I think the artist community around the world have strongly reacted to the movement. And, of course, we also have the rise of Black Lives Matter giant murals and street art around the world. And some like the one painted directly on the Hollywood Boulevard will, I heard, remain permanent, so that's exciting. But what I found very interesting is that even the artists who never did murals before started to paint on those cardboard that covered businesses in Oakland and New York, and they started using basically their boards as white canvases. So I think this is new. People just went on, artists just went on the streets to express themselves from every genre and every horizon. So the good news is that there is a database of Black Lives Matter street art that has been created to make sure that it's not forgotten and can be used as resources for scholars and artists. I would say, within the Villa San Francisco itself, we had a resident, Cheryl Derricotte, who decided to leverage her stay at the Villa to pursue a work about Thomas Jefferson and his positions on slavery and freedom. She says that Jefferson's affection for revolution was not extended to Black people. He was born into a slave-holding family. Over the course of his life, he owned about 600 people, and half of them were under the age of 16. He had six children with one of his slaves, Sally Hemings, who he never freed. And so these are things that I had no idea. I think that makes the work of Cheryl very important in that matter, because of this information about Jefferson and that it resonates with critics saying that textbooks have been slow to incorporate Black humanity in their slavery narratives, and they still have a long way to go. So now, regarding your question on the curators and museums, I've read that the Black Lives Matter movement helped shift the public opinion on the issues of restitution of artifacts, belonging to African nations, and I think that's super positive. You know, France was one of the first to start returning artifacts to countries like Benin and then Senegal in 2020, and I read that the movement, the Black Lives Matter movement, had sped up the restitution process. So now I think the public is going to watch when museums reopen their doors. If only to see if Black artists have a better presence within the museums' creations and shows. I think throughout our human history, artists have been quite critical to influencing major art, political and societal movements. We definitely need their perspective today, more than ever. And we owe it to our generation to come. I was speaking with one of our artists recently–her name is Aude-Emilie Judaïque–and she quoted a French author. His name is Stéphane Hessel. And she said, "Create is to resist. Resist is to create," and I think that speaks to what is happening right now.
Andrea (20:12):
This is incredibly interesting and, and I'm glad that spaces like the Villa San Francisco exists to have this kind of dialogue. Thank you so much, Melanie. It's, it's been an absolute pleasure having you here and hearing about Villa San Francisco.
Melanie (20:25):
Thank you so much, Andrea, for the opportunity to speak with you.