Announcing the 2025 Oui Design! Cohort in Los Angeles
Art & Design
Clémence Althabegoïty et Catherine Romand – Lauréates Dialogues 2024 (c) Julie Limont for the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation
Meet the visionary, sustainability-driven designers selected for the Oui Design! Los Angeles immersion program this November.
In partnership with the Laboratoire des pratiques durables of the Manufactures Nationales – Mobilier National & Sèvres, Villa Albertine has selected five grantees to participate in a ten-day professional immersion program in Los Angeles and the Californian desert, focusing on innovative materials, sustainable practices and cutting-edge technology. The program aims to foster meaningful connections between French designers and the dynamic professional ecosystem of Southern California.
On June 25, a jury representing both major institutions and professionals from the world of craft and design met to select the grantees:
- Zoë Ryan, Director of the Hammer Museum
- Elena Manferdini, Architect and Designer, Graduate Programs Chair at Sci-Arc
- Jia Yi Gu, Architecture Researcher, Curator, and Designer
- Loïc Turpin, Director of Communications and Development, and Marc Bayard, Director of Research and Innovation, at the Manufactures Nationales – Sèvres and Mobilier National
Learn more about the grant recipients below!
In partnership with
Manufactures nationales – Sèvres & Mobilier national
Resulting from the merger between the Mobilier national and the Cité de la Céramique – Sèvres & Limoges, the National Manufactures were established on January 1, 2025, to promote the excellence of French craftsmanship and highlight the richness of both tangible and intangible heritage through more than 53 artistic crafts practiced within its manufactures and workshops.
Unique worldwide, this new public entity dedicated to decorative arts, crafts, and design combines heritage and creation to play a central role in implementing the national strategy in support of artistic crafts.
Its mission is structured around six key priorities: education and training; research; creation; support for the fragile ecosystem of artistic crafts; heritage promotion; and the international outreach of craftsmanship.
As the heir to four centuries of history, it comprises two museums (the National Museum of Ceramics in Sèvres and the Adrien Dubouché National Museum in Limoges), nine manufactures and creative workshops (including the Sèvres National Manufactory, the Gobelins Tapestry Manufactory, the Beauvais Tapestry Manufactory, the Savonnerie Carpet Manufactory, the lace workshops of Alençon and Le Puy-en-Velay, and the Research and Creation Workshop for contemporary furniture), seven restoration workshops, and a furnishing commission.
Firmly rooted in local territories, this public institution operates across eight departments: in Paris, Hauts-de-Seine (Sèvres), Hérault (Lodève), Creuse (Aubusson), Orne (Alençon), Haute-Loire (Le Puy-en-Velay), Haute-Vienne (Limoges), and Oise (Beauvais).
Institut français
The Institut français is responsible for France’s international cultural program. Supervised by both the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and by the Ministry of Culture, it promotes French culture abroad through cultural exchange initiatives. Operating in a space where the arts, intellectual exchange, cultural and social innovation, and linguistic partnerships interact and intersect, it is also responsible for promoting the French language and the sharing of works, artists, and ideas all over the world. The Institut français is one of Villa Albertine’s main French partners.