September sees the Journées du Patrimoine (Heritage Days)! Introduced in France in 1986 by the Ministry of Culture, they are an opportunity to visit and discover places in Paris that are sometimes closed to the public!
The Villa Vassilieff, located in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, is a cultural venue founded by Russian artist Marie Vassilieff in 1911, which has served as a studio and meeting place for many famous artists such as Picasso and Modigliani. Today, the Villa is an exhibition and contemporary creation space, managed by Bétonsalon, Centre d'art et de recherche, which hosts exhibitions, artist residencies and cultural events, while preserving Montparnasse's artistic heritage. This year, it welcomes the AWARE association for the Journées du Patrimoine 2025.
AWARE (Archives of Women Artists, Research and Exhibitions) is an organization dedicated to the valorization of women artists in art history. Founded in 2014, AWARE is dedicated to researching, documenting, and promoting the work of women artists, who are often under-represented. This year, the association is creating an event for the Journées du Patrimoine 2025 at the Villa Vassilieff in Paris.
Keywa Henri, Kalin'a Tɨlewuyu artist (indigenous nation of "French Guiana") will present her animated short Kassulu tolilɨ : Anaxi wonumingalɨ lo moloma [Story of pearls: Anaxi's choice], conceived as part of the research program "The Origin of Others. Rewriting the history of art in the Americas, from the 19th century to the present day". Freely inspired by the founding stories of the Kalin'a Tɨlewuyu nation, this fable invites us to follow the adventures of Anaxi, an emblematic figure of Kalin'a cosmovision, through the art of native beading, an ancestral feminine practice. In a workshop designed for anyone aged 7 and over, Keywa Henri will share anecdotes and secrets from the making of the film, exploring the art of beading, from meaning to motif, from idea to finished object, and exploring the many facets of this practice.
This event is an opportunity for AWARE: Archives of Women Artists, Research and Exhibitions to share information about their work and the history of Villa Vassilieff, and to honor six artists who have collaborated with them throughout the year. The guest artists - Cheryl Ann Bolden, Keywa Henri, Morgane Baffier, the Nest collective, made up of Park Chae Biole, Park Chae Dalle and Constance de Raucourt - have developed their proposals as part of AWARE's residency, education and research programs.
Discover our full program **here**.
The Nest collective, in association with the AWARE en 2025 documentation center, proposes to explore a history of women that is both personal and subjective, through workshops on textile masks and culinary and imaginary recipes. Open to everyone aged 4 and over, these participatory workshops invite participants to pay tribute to the female figures who have shaped their lives, what they have passed on to them and what they inspire in them. In line with the evolving installation work developed by the collective as part of its residency at AWARE, it will be present in the Villa space to accompany these workshops.
Saturday September 20: textile mask workshop
Sunday September 21: "Le grand livre de recettes" culinary transmission workshop
This event is an opportunity for AWARE: Archives of Women Artists, Research and Exhibitions to share information about its work, the history of Villa Vassilieff, and to honor six artists who have collaborated with it throughout the year. The guest artists - Cheryl Ann Bolden, Keywa Henri, Morgane Baffier, the Nest collective, made up of Park Chae Biole, Park Chae Dalle and Constance de Raucourt - have developed their proposals as part of AWARE's residency, education and research programs.
Discover our full program **here**.
Artist-lecturer Morgane Baffier has been associated with AWARE's educational program at the Villa Vassilieff since 2023. On the occasion of the Journées du matrimoine (Heritage Days), she will be presenting for the first time an open-access lecture entitled "Les M&M's l'ont l'fait" (The M&M's did it), conceived as part of this program. Starting from the observation that women are under-represented in art, Morgane Baffier uses the codes of scholarly discourse and the lecture to reinterpret the past and question our certainties. By playing on misleading causalities, she encourages us to rethink the way in which historical narratives and gender stereotypes are constructed.
This event is an opportunity for AWARE: Archives of Women Artists, Research and Exhibitions to share information about her work, the history of Villa Vassilieff, and to honor six artists who have collaborated with her throughout the year. The guest artists - Cheryl Ann Bolden, Keywa Henri, Morgane Baffier, the Nest collective, made up of Park Chae Biole, Park Chae Dalle and Constance de Raucourt - have developed their proposals as part of AWARE's residency, education and research programs.
Discover our full program **here**.
Dates and Opening Time
From September 20, 2025 to September 21, 2025
