Frac Occitanie Montpellier

Could you briefly explain why you decided to apply for the position of director of Frac OM?

After 17 years at the Villa Arson in Nice, I simply wanted to work differently, to be confronted with different audiences, new challenges and new experiences.

Were there any things you discovered that particularly caught your eye when you were preparing your application?

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the work in the field, particularly in disseminating the collection, was still very active, and that the team was very committed and invested. It’s very reassuring on the one hand, but a little worrying on the other, because it’s not normal for this commitment not to be recognized for its true worth.

Can you sum up the main thrusts of your artistic and cultural project for the Frac in a few lines?

Above all, I want to take the time to listen to the team and all our partners in the region, and not come up with ready-made ideas without being aware of existing expectations or limitations. What’s more, no artistic and cultural project will really be able to develop until we’ve resolved the problem of our local people, which are currently divided into three distinct areas in and around Montpellier. It’s totally schizophrenic to work in these conditions. It doesn’t facilitate internal dialogue and creates teams within teams.

In the meantime, of course, we’re going to get on with the job and try to implement certain actions. In particular, I’d like to see the principle of acquisition evolve towards more structured and structuring field projects, towards commissions with local partners, towards works that integrate the life of communities or social-professional groups. It’s not going to be easy, because this kind of ambition is always complex to achieve, but it’s worth a try.

How do you see the Frac’s relationship with its territory? What areas would you like to develop?

By changing the principle of acquisitions to commissions, we will be able to establish a different kind of dialogue with our partners, going beyond the traditional loan of artworks. This does not call into question the work of disseminating the collection, but it does allow us to be more “active”, more rooted in the region, in life.

What specific features of the collection would you like to highlight?

None in particular, because the great advantage of a collection such as that of the Frac Occitanie Montpellier (with over 1300 artworks) is that it offers a multitude of perspectives, making it a vast field of experimentation for its dissemination. I like the idea that you can enter the collection through several doors, and then browse freely. As I’ve wandered around the collection’s website over the past few weeks, I’ve made some wonderful discoveries about artists I knew little or nothing about.

What new audiences would you like to mobilize? What strategies and actions would you like to develop?

Here too, I want to take the time to discuss with the team the relationship with the public that the Frac has maintained in recent years. I want to understand what is being done with the collection. But in any case, you can’t create a link with the public by sitting comfortably on old-fashioned principles of mediation. Beyond the “educational” content, the dissemination of the collection must be a pretext for creating social links by reaching out to wider networks, not just to organize simple exhibition visits, but to be as inventive as possible. For example, Gaëlle Saint-Cricq, who is in charge of public relations, is organizing a series of pleadings on art on October 18. I don’t know what the outcome will be, but I like the idea. I’m also very attached to the performing arts, as well as to the spirit of the fêtes votives, which are still very much alive in Occitanie, and which are often unique in their entertainment. For example, I’d like to organize balls for certain vernissages in rural towns, inviting young local music groups. I’ve also proposed launching a program of processions conceived and designed by artists, in conjunction of course with local authorities.

How does the Frac fit in with today’s major ecological and digital challenges?

Let’s be honest, there’s an obvious paradox between the necessary and indispensable mobility of a Frac in its region and the principles of any eco-responsible policy, the basis of which is to reduce mobility as much as possible. This being the case, within a year I intend to propose a strategic plan to address these “challenges” as you call them. This plan will go hand in hand with a proposal on premises, on the principle of acquisitions, on the dissemination of the collection and on our actions. In any case, this plan will not involve dreams of big, shiny buildings or energy-guzzling events. I dream of a Frac on a human scale, close to people, close to everything.

What makes an artist’s work particularly interesting to you?

I’m very pragmatic in my conception of aesthetics. I’m wary of anything that can be summed up in a pitch, an idea or an ideology, because for me art is a sum of experiences that form a mille-feuille of thoughts and forms, frames and vanishing lines. I take a lot of time to “deconstruct” a work of art.