The Fund
The Edouard Glissant Art Fund was born from our common desire to continue and develop two treasures left by the poet: his Maison du Diamant, an essential place of inspiration, and his collection of international works, built up during his life with a view to of the creation of a museum of the Arts of the Americas.
This is an abundant, open heritage, which it is up to us to bring to life through two non-profit structures: the Edouard Glissant endowment fund or art fund (responsible for stimulating new creations) and the Institut du Tout-Monde association (responsible, among other things, for the management of the Maison du Diamant and its annexes). Starting from this open intellectual heritage, we hope that the art fund and this creative residency will allow and stimulate new gestures in art, opening young artists from around the world to this tremor of the world so dear to Edouard Glissant .
The inseparable activities of the fund and the creation center will therefore have as their starting point Martinique, this place of the Diamond, and this sensitivity to the world drawn through the works of Edouard Glissant. We wish, through the intertwined organization of creative residencies, research projects in aesthetics as well as science, and traveling exhibitions on all continents, to encourage the birth of unexpected artistic practices, ideas, and journeys.
Objectives
Support the Édouard Glissant artist residency (within the Édouard Glissant House, Le Diamant, Martinique, Caribbean), which is open from 2024 to world’s visual artists, art curators & critics, writers, poets, musicians ;
Encourage dialogue between new generations of artists and the writings of Édouard Glissant, through support for international exhibitions, publications, conferences, exchanges; Encourage transdisciplinary research in this field, open to worldwide students, researchers, doctoral students, art actors, curators and, depending on opportunities, to the public.
Promote access to – and dissemination of – the Édouard Glissant art collection. This collection is comprised of about 200 artworks, mainly from artists’ bequests, including around 100 in the collections of the Memorial ACTe museum, in Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe, Caribbean) ;
The Board of Directors
The inseparable activities of the fund and the creation center will therefore have as their starting point Martinique, this place of the Diamond, and this sensitivity to the world drawn through the works of Edouard Glissant. We wish, through the intertwined organization of creative residencies, research projects in aesthetics as well as science, and traveling exhibitions on all continents, to encourage the birth of unexpected artistic practices, ideas, and journeys.
François Vitrani
Treasurer
Ronan Grossiat
General Secretary
Sylvie Glissant
Founding Member
Scientific Committee
The Scientific Committee has an advisory role to the Board of Directors, on the artistic directions : Residents of the Édouard Glissant house and fund’s participation in exhibitions, round tables, conferences, research, etc.
Scientific Committee Members are volunteers and jointly undertake to respect the Fund’s statutory Code of Ethics.
Scientific Committee Members can, if they wish, be resident candidates at the Edouard Glissant House. On the other hand, in compliance with the Edouard Glissant Art Fund’s Code of Ethics, they cannot be employees of, or paid service providers mandated by, the Edouard Glissant Art Fund.
Nurith Aviv
Middle-East, Europe
Nathalie Bondil
North America, Europe
Olivia Breleur
Caribbean, Europe
Estelle Coppolani
Indian Ocean, Europe
Julien Creuzet
Caribbean, Europe
Chris Cyrille
Caribbean, Europe
Nolan Oswald Dennis
Africa
Souleymane Bachir Diagne
Africa, North America
Manthia Diawara
Africa, North America
Oulimata Gueye
Africa, Europe
Hamedine Kane
Africa, Europe
Ana Kiffer
South America
Tarik Kiswanson
Middle East, Europe
Hans-Ulrich Obrist
Europe
Marie-Hélène Pereira
Africa, Europe
Valentine Umansky
Africa, Europe
Christopher Yggdre
Europe
Batoutos Committee
The Batoutos Committee (Patrons Committee) is named in reference to the Édouard Glissant’s ‘Sartorius. Le roman des Batoutos’ (1999) novel. He has an advisory role to the Board of Directors, to help it in its strategic decisions and its Fund’s development objectives.
Batoutos Committee Members are volunteers and jointly undertake to respect the Fund’s statutory Code of Ethics.
A pretty little whirlwind
“A whole bush becomes lighter, elegant to last better.
These tres cut out infinity. White space.
Estimate the depth.
Black barrels, prophetic
Like the pier of poisonous salt.
The quivering of branches in speech.
The man who sings has tamed a smoke of words with his hand.
It becomes a fluid sculpture that sows us.
The cadence fills the space where we tremble to listen to the rise of the first ages.”
E.G.
Code of ethics
Edouard Glissant Art Fund’s actors (Board Members, Scientific Committee Members, Batoutos / Patrons Committee Members) are volunteers and jointly undertake to respect the Fund’s statutory Code of Ethics, in 3 areas:
Ethics of Relation
“It is not by the atavistic lure nor by the blood relationship that you inherit the blessed diversity’s stigma. You are born Batuto, but so am I. That means, as this diversity comes true (…)”
Édouard Glissant, ‘Sartorius. Le roman des Batoutos’ (1999).
Edouard Glissant Art Fund is committed in the promotion of all the diversities, its actors are committed in the absolute rejection of all forms of discrimination, abuse of influence, of physical and moral harassment;
Financial integrity and transparency
“Because we’ll have to get used to the progressive undifferentiation of species, races, genders, viruses or living kinds (…), who wins without us being able to conceive how. As we are approaching this new, floating knowledge, which allows us not to be swallowed up (…)”
Édouard Glissant, ‘Traité du Tout-Monde’ (1997).
Edouard Glissant Art Fund is committed to financial integrity and transparency, including
For the Fund, strong governance and control processes within its statutes, and a strict Chinese wall between its Board and its Scientific Committee; Transparency in the origin and payment terms of the Fund including artist residency fees – payment by bank transfer only -, in compliance with current legislation;
For the Residents, declaration and use of funds received in accordance with current legislation.
Independence
“The fact remains, we can never repeat it enough, that the ‘nègre marron’ (run-away slave) is the only real popular hero of the Caribbean, whose terrible tortures which marked his/her capture give the measure of courage and determination. There is an indisputable example of systematic opposition, total refusal”
Édouard Glissant, ‘Revue Acoma’ (1971).
Fund integrates statutory guarantees on the full and complete freedom of its artistic line, taking care to protect its strict independence from all partisan interests and/or economic influences.
All the parties agree to protect both Residents and Fund independence.