Villa Noailles
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
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Project Description
The villa Noailles opened as an art centre in Hyères in 2003. It is still the only art centre in France whose cultural programming is built around architecture, fashion, photography and design. Since its opening it has hosted the International festival of fashion, photography and fashion accessories. In 2005 the villa Noailles created the Design Parade, which aims at supporting young designers and in 2015 Design Parade Toulon devoted to interior design and located in the nearby city.
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Description of the project
Summary
The villa Noailles opened as an art centre in Hyères in 2003. It is still the only art centre in France whose cultural programming is built around architecture, fashion, photography and design. Since its opening it has hosted the International festival of fashion, photography and fashion accessories founded by Jean-Pierre Blanc in 1986. In 2005 the villa Noailles created the Design Parade, a design festival which aims at supporting young designers and in 2015 Design Parade Toulon devoted to interior design and located in the nearby city.
The art centre’s philosophy and ethics meets those of Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles who commissioned the villa to architect Robert Mallet-Stevens in 1923. From the 1920s to the very late 1960s the couple welcomed in Hyères artists from all disciplines (painting, sculpture, film-making, photography, etc.) and made their house a shelter where guests could benefit from their generosity, where they could work, meet with fellow artists and potential mecenes.
Today the very large-scaled activities of the art centre remain focused on the artists and on local communities. Each year the fashion, design and interior design festivals enable young designers, mostly just out of school, to work with world-renowned companies, as well as to conducting workshops for local kids and teaming up with local artisans.
In 2020 the villa Noailles opened up a new multidisciplinary space, L’Annexe, situated in the town centre in order to pool energies from this working-class neighbourhood and strengthen the bonds between the art centre and local population.
Key objectives for sustainability
The fashion, design and interior design festivals were all created with the determined will for them to be rooted in their territory.
Local craftmanship and companies are key elements in the making and the production of competitions and exhibitions in Hyères and in Toulon. The competitors, designers and artists are given the opportunity to experiment with local techniques (such as ceramics, stucco and plaster) in collaboration with local artisans. It is of great important to us that the set-design of all exhibitions can spotlight traditional and sometimes disregarded handicraft.
The villa Noailles’s cultural programming also plays a major role in local economy. At the occasion of the three international festivals we welcome guests from all-over the world (professionals, journalists, jury members, competitors, visitors, etc.) who are hosted by hotels with which we have developed long-term partnerships. We work with local chefs for all caterings and try and support them all year long by including them to all the art centre’s events. Moreover, each visitor is given a guide with local good addresses (shops, restaurants, studios, galleries, cafés, etc).
As for the fashion, design and interior design competitions themselves, the villa Noailles encourages candidates who work and research on new sustainable materials, whether it is new textiles, new fabrics, reused materials or traditional environment-friendly techniques.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
The fashion, design and interior design festivals organized by the villa Noailles all embody a certain search for beauty and excellence. Many young designers awarded at Hyères and Toulon have then become world-renowned artists (Anthony Vaccarello head of Saint-Laurent, Julien Dossena head of Paco Rabanne, Constance Guisset to name only a few).
The juries always consist of a mix of established designers, key figures in the fashion and design industries, as well as artists and a young designer – former winner of the Grand Prize. This insure the prevalence of aesthetics considerations in all competitions.
All winners (in fashion, photography, fashion accessories, design and interior design) are given the opportunity to work in collaboration with studios and companies of excellence for one year. For instance, the winner of the fashion Grand Prize can benefit from the technical and artistic skills of the Chanel Métiers d’art (Maison Lesage embroidery, Maison Michel millinery). The resulting collection is presented at Hyères the following year.
We are also very mindful of the quality of the experience for all visitors. All set-designs, sceneries and showrooms are created by designers and artists – mostly former winners of the festivals. We have also developed and artistic residency policy and we welcome artists to create site-specific artworks whether it is inside the exhibition rooms, in the gardens, or even on a whole façade (Alexandre Benjamin Navet at the Hôtel des Arts in Toulon in 2020).
Key objectives for inclusion
Inclusion is a key word for all the villa Noailles’s programming. First of all we commit to a long-term support with the festivals’ winners and candidates, inviting them to give workshops in Hyères and in Toulon during the following year, commissioning them set-designs, photographies and artworks for events and exhibitions, and welcoming them at the villa.
We have also developed a strong activity in cultural mediation. We offer workshops all year long to local kids and have initiate dynamic partnerships with schools form all over the region. We were pioneers in the Manifesto program created by the Hermès foundation in 2020 in order to teach children leatherwork and wood techniques. We also have a close connection with the new École Camondo in Toulon which is now part of the interior design festival, giving the students the chance to create a project and show their work.
All the exhibitions in Hyères and in Toulon are open to all and free. We offer free guided tours and summer visits with students. During the successive lockdowns we have created an online artistic program on the ville Noailles’ social medias, inviting one artist a day to create an artwork live, perform, give a concert, share a kitchen recipe… as a way to keep on making culture accessible for all and to keep on supporting and remunerating artists.
Results in relation to category
The villa Noailles’s actions have gathered a community of artists, artisans, teachers, students and local associations who are part of our yearly programming. They are involved on every level according to their expertise: in the curatorial process, in the production of the exhibitions and in the mediation.
This rooting helped revitalised a whole neighbourhood in the city of Toulon, where the interior design festival is located in an ancient bishopric in the underprivileged town centre. This historical building which was crucial to the city life until the nineties sixty, housing a school and a museum, had been left behind up until the municipal authority decided to let the villa Noailles association use it for its cultural activities. It is now in the process of rebirth, sheltering exhibitions every year. The courtyard on the main avenue has reopened with new artistic propositions, a long-closed shop has become the showroom of the new Camondo School of Toulon and the public is eager to re-discover the place (up to 200 visitors a day).
How Citizens benefit
In the past year we have worked more than ever with citizens, schools and local communities in the making of an exhibition at the villa Noailles about architecture in the city of Hyères.
We have commissioned local artists to draw or paint some of the emblematic buildings of the city and have shown their works beside some by famous (Raoul Dufy) or young artists part of our residency program (Jacques Merle). We have also worked with the art class of one of the local highschools, involving the pupils in the curatorial process and offering them a distinct room to display their works. Most of all we have collaborated with the association “Hyères en croquis et en dessin” who displayed a selection of drawings in L’Annexe, a new gallery located in the town centre of Hyères. This new space aims at being closer to local citizens in a modest neighbourhood. It was furnished by a duet of local designers (Superpoly) and is now completely open to the outside and represents the ideal place to have workshops, gatherings and to welcome associations and local groups.
The villa Noailles’ shop also plays a key role in the involvement of all citizens. It presents a selection of artworks, books, clothes and objects by former candidates of the festivals, by members of the juries or by artists part of our cultural programming. But it also displays creations by local artists (soaps by Hyères-born Mona Cara) and artisans located in the Parcours des arts – the municipal program which offers low rent studios to craftsmen and women.
Innovative character
The aim of the villa Noailles’s programming is to create bonds: bonds between young artists and international companies and institutions, between local citizens and renowned designers, between citizens and their heritage.
This whole policy is reflected in the way we have invested the historical building which is the villa Noailles itself. One part of the house is devoted to the permanent collection about the history of Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles, whereas the other part can be used for festivals, exhibitions, workshops, and all of our cultural activities. Four of the former guest rooms were redecorated by four famous designers in order to welcome artists from the residency program. The former swimming pool and squash court are used as exhibition rooms for the presidents of the juries during the fashion festival. The reception rooms are where the photography candidates are presented. The way we found to preserve and protect the building is to keep it alive.
This path from patrimony to contemporary creation, as well as from local traditions to innovative materials is at the heart of our mission.
