(Nicole Morrison/CASACOR)
In the 17th century, Louis XIV began funding promising young artists so they could study in Rome, creating one of the first artist residency programs . Since then, the French government has established an academy at the Villa Medici in Rome; at the Casa de Velázquez in Madrid; at Villa Kujoyama in Kyoto; and at smaller cultural outposts in a dozen other places around the world. (Nicole Morrison/CASACOR)
In that grand tradition, Villa San Francisco recently opened to support the city’s French creatives in the state of California. But rather than providing a monastic retreat, this residence—aimed at everyone from visual artists to writers and photographers—focuses on exclusively in making connections , with colorful rooms that highlight this ambition. “The idea is to be outside the walls and meet people from various ecosystems here: entrepreneurs, university researchers, artists, venture capitalists,” says Juliette Donadieu , cultural attaché at the French Embassy in San Francisco. (Nicole Morrison/CASACOR)
To help them feel at home, designer Amir Mortazavi of Studio Mortazavi conjured a cross-cultural mix that livens up the residence’s accommodations. (Nicole Morrison/CASACOR)
The two-bedroom apartment, located in the French consulate residence in San Francisco's Parnassus Heights neighborhood, overlooks a spectacular panorama of the city, with Golden Gate Park in the distance and two giant sequoias in the foreground. The playful palette of pink, yellow and other pastel hues is drawn from American painter Wayne Thiebaud's French Pastries (1963), and a visual divider of black and white stripes is a nod to conceptual artist Daniel Buren . (Nicole Morrison/CASACOR)
Two French artists who were specifically inspired by the Bay Area are represented here: The wallpaper lining a bookshelf and a cabinet includes photos from street artist JR’s 2018 digital mural, The Chronicles of San Francisco. There is also a framed print of Agnès Varda 's 1968 documentary Black Panther. Mortazavi commissioned most of the natural wood furniture from local designers, including a pine sofa from Béhar , cedar pendants from Jay Nelson , and a dining set from Yvonne Mouser. . Source: Elle Decor
