Villa Albertine announces fall season with spotlight on museums, literature, dance, and residencies
World-renowned author Leïla Slimani at Villa Albertine earlier this spring
New York, September 7, 2023 – Villa Albertine today announced its fall season: a packed schedule of performances, artists talks, and cultural events aimed at building exchange and collaboration between creative communities in the US, France, and beyond.
Highlights include a major industry symposium on the future of dance in the face of multiplying crises; live discussions with the General Director of Paris-Musées Anne-Sophie de Gasquet, Brooklyn Museum Director Anne Pasternak, and Zeina Arida, Director of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha; and book launches with some of the most prominent contemporary authors in France, including Mohamed Mbougar Sarr and Marie NDiaye. Throughout the season, 26 international artists participating in Villa Albertine’s ambitious exploratory residency program will pass through New York, and several will feature in public events.
This fall Villa Albertine will unveil two major additions to its historic Fifth avenue headquarters: a new statue of the Little Prince on the building’s garden wall, in celebration of the iconic book’s 80th anniversary, and the redesigned fifth floor Atelier with generous support from the Florence Gould Foundation.
In the coming months, the cultural institution will also announce the winners of several of its tentpole grants and prizes supporting emerging French artists and paving the way for their work to reach American audiences. These include the Étant donnés Contemporary Art grants and prize, the Albertine Translation Prize, the Beauford Delaney Grant for research in African American art history, the Recanati-Kaplan Prize, and more.
“This fall season reflects our commitment to culture in all its forms, with a diverse program of events and announcements that each serve to uplift talented international creatives and spark engagement with the great questions of our time,” said Gaëtan Bruel, Director of Villa Albertine. “October will also mark two years since the launch of Villa Albertine. We’re proud to support so many new voices in the international exchange of arts and ideas and look forward to welcoming old friends and new in the months to come.”
Villa Albertine was established in 2021 in recognition of the important role the US plays in contemporary cultural production. It is the fourth major institution of its kind, joining Villas in Spain, Japan, and the original 350-year-old Villa Medici in Italy, each working to bring contemporary French culture to a new audience.
This fall 12 women museum directors will participate in Villa Albertine’s Museum Series, a monthly public conversation at Villa Albertine’s New York City HQ, organized in partnership with the Center for Curatorial Leadership. The series pairs French and American museum directors for in-depth discussions about the challenges and opportunities facing museums globally.
Among the fall lineup: Anne Pasternak, Shelby White and Leon Levy Director of the Brooklyn Museum, Anne-Sophie de Gasquet, General Director of Paris-Musées (the museums of the City of Paris), and Laure Dalon, Director of the Musée des Augustins, Toulouse. Also joining the program is Zeina Arida, Director of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha.
For France’s “rentrée littéraire” this fall (a concentrated period of new book releases), Villa Albertine and Albertine Books will be the New York City hub for some of the most exciting new titles in English translation. Events featuring Prix Goncourt-winning novelists Marie NDiaye and Mohamed Mbougar Sar, as well as much-celebrated Villa Albertine author-in-residence François-Henri Désérable, are among the many highlights of this Literary October.
Continuing its stewardship of Francophone literature in the English-speaking world, in December Villa Albertine will announce the 2023 winners of the Albertine Translation Prize, a cash prize and publication grant honoring the best contemporary French literature in English translation.
Resident Events
Villa Albertine offers bespoke experiences for global creators, thinkers, and cultural professionals to engage in creative exploration all across the US, reinventing the model for residencies to facilitate cross-cultural learning and exchange.
In September, Villa Albertine will host events with three of these artists in residence—filmmaker Raphaël Millet, writer François-Henri Désérable, and violin soloist Marina Chiche—facilitating fascinating glimpses behind the scenes at their ongoing projects.
Albertine Dance Season: nationwide performances and an international symposium
In 2023 Villa Albertine has organized a Franco-American dance exchange of unprecedented scale. The nationwide exploration of dance from inception to performance spotlights French, France-based, African, and Caribbean choreographers and companies for a year of international exchange.
From September through December the Season will support performances by 18 companies across 13 US cities. One third of these companies will be making their US debut. In addition to artist residencies and expert talks across the country, Villa Albertine will also host a professional symposium on October 26 and 27 at its New York City headquarters. This convening of global artists and professionals will focus on the future of dance as an industry and art form in the face of climate and funding crises, social inequality, and cultural upheaval, with an emphasis on collaborative solutions.
In early 2024 audiences can look forward to the second issue of States, Villa Albertine’s annual print bookazine, and the return of Villa Albertine’s signature multi-city mega-event, the Night of Ideas.
Villa Albertine’s Fall 2023 Programming Highlights
Saturday, September 9: One by Thierry Thieu Niang
The Invisible Dog Arts Center, NYC
“One” is inspired by the artwork of visual artist Camille de Galbert. This performance is part of Albertine Dance Season.
Tuesday, September 12: Museum Series – Community engagement with Zeina Arida and Anne Pasternak
Villa Albertine, 972 Fifth Avenue
The first dialogue of the fall season will focus on sparking community engagement at museums with Zeina Arida, Director of Mathaf – Arab Modern Art Museum, Doha and Anne Pasternak, Director of the Brooklyn Museum.
Wednesday, September 13 and Saturday September 16: An Immigrant’s Story by Wanjiru Kamuyu
Princeton University’s Seuls en Scène festival 9/13 and PS21 in Chatham, NY 9/16
Moving through a landscape of 35 empty black chairs, Wanjiru Kamuyu creates an intimate portrait of the migrant’s experience of being uprooted, exotified, and subjected to racism as she searches for a place in the world. This performance is part of Albertine Dance Season.
Thursday, September 14: Gaston Méliès, Elusive Pioneer of American Cinema
Villa Albertine, 972 Fifth Avenue
Using home movies, photographs, and interviews, Villa Albertine resident Raphaël Millet presents his findings on George Méliès’s older brother, Gaston, a pioneering and little-known filmmaker whose work has nearly been wiped out by time and travel.
Thursday, September 14 and Friday, September 15: US debut of Bouffées, Pode Ser, You’re the one we love by Leïla Ka
Rochester Fringe Festival
Leïla Ka ventures into raw dialogue, through different choreographic languages, in search of the multiple identities that constitute a person. Entering dance through hip-hop and later performing for Maguy Marin, Leïla Ka confronts the relationship to self, others, and society, throwing herself into a never-ending struggle in her award-winning solo Pode Ser which will be paired with additional acclaimed works. This performance is part of Albertine Dance Season.
Friday, September 22 and Saturday, September 23: A disguised welcome… by Wanjiru Kamuyu
The Chocolate Factory Theater, NYC
A solo exploration of the experience of displacement, A disguised welcome… draws inspiration from Kenyan-born, France-based choreographer Wanjiru Kamuyu‘s experiences in Africa, North America, and Europe, offering a bitingly satirical look at the notions of center and periphery. This performance is part of Albertine Dance Season.
Tuesday, September 26: From Shadow to Light: Legendary Female Musicians
Villa Albertine, 972 Fifth Avenue
Globally renowned violinist, professor, journalist, and Villa Albertine resident Marina Chiche will guide attendees through a solo violin recital, followed by a talk hosted by Emmanuel Kattan on Chiche’s new book, Musiciennes de légende, which sheds light on lesser-known legendary women musicians of the past.
Wednesday, September 27 and Saturday, September 30: Never Twenty One by Smaïl Kanouté
FIAF – Crossing the Line, NYC September 27 and PS21, Chatham NY September 30
Never Twenty One by Smaïl Kanouté, Compagnie Vivons, infuses a variety of styles, from krump to wave, to convey the stories of victims of gun violence from New York to the favelas of Rio and the townships of Soweto. This performance is part of Albertine Dance Season.
Saturday, September 30: The Wear and Tear of a World: A Journey Through Iran
Villa Albertine, 972 Fifth Avenue
Ice hockey pro turned literary prodigy and Villa Albertine resident François-Henri Désérable steps away from the French literary cannon to place Iran at the center of this next literary masterpiece. Explore it during a talk moderated by writer Lila Azam Zangane.
Tuesday, October 10: Museum Series – International exchange in the era of globalization with Laure Dalon, Sophie Lévy, Esther Bell, Min Jung Kim, and Zoe Kahr
Villa Albertine, 972 Fifth Avenue
A conversation about French-American museum exchange in the era of globalization, featuring Laure Dalon (Musée des Augustins, Toulouse), Sophie Lévy (Musée d’arts de Nantes), Esther Bell (Clark Art Institute), and Min Jung Kim (Saint Louis Art Museum), moderated by Zoe Kahr (Memphis Brooks Museum of Art). This dialogue is organized in partnership with FRAME, a consortium of 32 museums in France and North America.
Friday, October 13 and Saturday, October 14: L’Onde by Nacera Belaza, followed by a screening and talk
Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, Middletown, CT
Internationally revered for her powerfully abstract work, Nacera Belaza draws a path between shadow and light, seeking to glimpse the infinite. In L’Onde (The Wave), the French Algerian choreographer immerses herself in the spellbinding notions of Algerian ritualistic dances. This performance is part of Albertine Dance Season.
Friday, October 13: O Samba do Crioulo Doido by Calixto Neto followed by a film and a talk
Jack Crystal Theater at Tisch School of the Arts, NYC
In O Samba do Crioulo Doido, Calixto Neto deconstructs representations of the black body in Brazilian culture and associations to eroticism and exoticism. This performance is part of Albertine Dance Season.
Friday, October 13 and Saturday, October 14: L’Etang by Gisèle Vienne with Adèle Haenel & Julie Shanahan
PS21, Chatham NY
L’Étang by Gisèle Vienne with Adèle Haenel & Julie Shanahan is a family drama adapted from a story by Swiss writer Robert Walser examining different layers of perceptions of reality and time. This performance is part of Albertine Dance Season.
Monday, October 16: Vengeance is Mine – an evening with Marie NDiaye and Judith Thurman
Villa Albertine, 972 Fifth Avenue
Villa Albertine will kick off Literary October with the launch of the American edition of 2009 Prix Goncourt-winning author Marie NDiaye’s new publication Vengeance is Mine: A Novel. The author will be in conversation with New Yorker staff writer Judith Thurman.
Tuesday, October 17: Book launch: The Future Future – an evening with Adam Thirlwell and Jeffrey Eugenides
Villa Albertine, 972 Fifth Avenue
Adam Thirlwell will discuss The Future Future, a historical novel like no other, just published in the US by FSG with internationally acclaimed novelist Jeffrey Eugenides.
Wednesday, October 18: Monique Wittig’s French-American Legacy
Villa Albertine, 972 Fifth Avenue
This event, co-curated by choreographer Gisèle Vienne, Adèle Haenel, Sande Zeig, and Annabelle Kim, will gather audiences for a tribute to writer, philosopher, and feminist theorist Monique Wittig on the 20th anniversary of her death. A live reading by Adèle Haenel will be followed by a discussion on the legacy and reception of Wittig’s work in France and the US.
Saturday, October 21: Claiming Space for Women Writers in the French Literary Canon
Villa Albertine, 972 Fifth Avenue
Celebrated authors Alice Zeniter and Jennifer Tamas will discuss their respective works, which question the place accorded to women in literature, from Antiquity to the Ancien Régime to the present day.
Wednesday, October 25: Writing at the Crossroads of New African Literature: Mohamed MBougar Sarr
Villa Albertine, 972 Fifth Avenue
Villa Albertine welcomes Senegalese novelist Mohamed Mbougar Sarr for a conversation on his latest novel, The Most Secret Memory of Men (translated by Lara Vergnaud, Other Press), winner of the 2020 Prix Goncourt.
Thursday, October 26 and Friday, October 27: Reciprocities: Making and Supporting Dance between France and the US
Villa Albertine, 972 Fifth Avenue
How do we sustain a practice of global exchange in dance at a time of ecological and cultural upheavals? This two-day symposium curated with Noémie Solomon presents roundtables with experts and one-on-one artists’ dialogues ranging from pedagogy as performance to acts of transmission to curatorial ecologies, and more. This symposium is part of Albertine Dance Season.
Tuesday, November 14: Book Launch: The Wizard of the Kremlin, an Evening with Giuliano da Empoli
Villa Albertine, 972 Fifth Avenue
Join Giuliano da Empoli as he presents his bestselling novel, The Wizard of the Kremlin, translated from the French by Willard Wood and published in the US by Other Press.
Thursday, November 30 to Saturday, December 10: Unisson, Rush, Distances, and Tumble by Ashley Chen – Compagnie Kashyl
La Mama Theater, NYC
Ashley Chen and Compagnie Kashyl’s Unisson, Rush, Distances, and Tumble offer meaningful reflections on the vices of contemporary urban life and a resolution to urban chaos. This performance is part of Albertine Dance Season.
November, date to be announced: Museum Series
Villa Albertine, 972 Fifth Avenue
The details of the November dialogue in Villa Albertine’s Museum Series will be announced soon.
Tuesday, December 5: Afrofuturism and Ecological Justice in French West Indies’ Contemporary Dance Villa Albertine, 972 Fifth Avenue
A conversation with choreographers Marlène Myrtil and Myriam Soulanges. This event is part of Albertine Dance Season.
December, date to be announced: Museum Series
Villa Albertine, 972 Fifth Avenue
The details of the final installment of the 2023 Museum Series will be announced later this fall.
December, date to be announced: Albertine Translation Prize award ceremony
Villa Albertine, 972 Fifth Avenue
Each year, the Albertine Translation Prize honors the best contemporary French literature in English translation. Winners will be announced live at this ceremony, with readings and words from the writers and a champagne toast.