What can developers and municipalities do to implement culture- and artist-friendly policies in their projects to ensure more equitable cities? How can artists help define and advocate for these policies? This talk was part of the City/Cité series, presented by Spur, California Humanities and Villa San Francisco, with the support of Institut français. The panelists were Elisse Douglass (Oakland Black Business Fund), Joshua Simon (Community Arts Stabilization Trust), Emilie Moreau (Apur, the Paris Urbanism Agency), Ronak Davé Okoye (SPUR) and Sophie Rosso (Redman). The event was moderated by Tommy Wong (Civic Design Studio).

Watch the discussion here.

A live in-person immersive experience merging contemporary performance by Kaimera Productions and featuring BANDALOOP, Sarah Crowell, Rashidi Omari, DJ Dion Decibels, YR Media, and Oakland residents sharing their stories of home, change, resilience and life in The Town.
The performance is presented as part of the Oakland/Saint-Denis Cooperation Project of Villa San Francisco, in co-production with the French American Cultural Society, the Institut Français, California Humanities, and in collaboration with Légendes Urbaines, which brings together urban and cultural actors, institutions and academics in the San Francisco Bay Area and Grand Paris.

Book your ticket here.

The event brought artists and city government representatives from the Oakland/Saint-Denis project together with Sacramento artists and representatives. It was hosted by the UC Davis Humanities Institute, and was part of their Winter/Spring 2021 Conversation Series. It was also part of the international conversation series “City/Cité” presented by California Humanities & Villa San Francisco, with the support of the Institut Français.
Watch the video here.

On April 27, Juliette Donadieu, the cultural attachée in San Francisco, and Julie Fry (California Humanities CEO) took part in a UC Berkeley class taught by French professor Nicholas Paige. The class dealt with the cultural history of Paris. They discussed the Oakland/Saint-Denis project, and the concepts of banlieue, gentrification, and the role of artists in urban projects, among other themes.

Cultural leaders Roberto Bedoya, Connie Spreen, Anya Sirota, and Juliette Donadieu, came together to share their perspectives and experiences. The event was moderated by Shannon Jackson from UC Berkeley. The panel discussed the role of artists, urban planners, scholars, and elected officials, in developing community-oriented cities across the US—Oakland, Chicago, Detroit—and Saint-Denis.

Watch the event here.

Join the Mayors of Oakland and Saint-Denis, Libby Schaaf and Mathieu Hanotin as they discuss what makes their cities special and their shared goal of engaging artists and communities to build creative and inclusive cities. Register here !

A conversation organized by Brooklyn Rail featured special guests Juliette Donadieu, cultural attaché of the French Embassy in San Francisco & director of Villa San Francisco, Simón Adinia Hanukai, theatermaker & co-artistic director of Kaimera Productions, Lori Fogarty, director of the Oakland Museum of California, and Juliette Bompoint, cultural producer & director of Mains d’Oeuvres, a nonprofit arts space in Saint-Ouen, a suburb of Paris. They were joined by the Rail’s Malvika Jolly for a conversation on what our different cities can teach us, on reimagining the role of cultural actors in urban development, and why our cities must be built collectively. The conversation was concluded with a poetry reading by Farid Matuk. Watch it here !

The project Oakland/Saint-Denis - introduced by California Humanities - was selected to be presented at the National Humanities Conference in November 2020! Every year, the conference brings together representatives from colleges, universities, state humanities councils, cultural institutions, and other community-based organizations to explore approaches to deepening the public’s engagement with the humanities. The project was presented on November 12, 2020.

In collaboration with California Humanities, the Oakland/Saint-Denis partners launched a series of public conversations to present and discuss some of the issues raised by the cooperation project, including artists, developers, and storytellers who can help make a difference in our cities. The first discussion, featuring Valentine Roy (Plaine Commune), Simon Adinia Hanukai (Kaimera Productions), Sarah Crowell (Destiny Arts Center) and Pierre-Emmanuel Becherand (Grand Paris Express) took place virtually on October 13, 2020 and celebrated the release of the publication “Translating Cities and Cultures”.

Watch the inaugural event !

On October 10, partners of the project (Laure Gayet/Légendes Urbaines, Juliette Bompoint/Mains d’Oeuvres) presented the publication “Translating Cities and Cultures” and participated in a discussion organized and hosted by another partner of the project, Le 6b.

More information here !