Fondation H was born in Antananarivo, Madagascar in 2017 on the initiative of entrepreneur Hassanein Hiridjee, who is convinced that art and culture have a strong societal impact and enable critical openness to the world. For the past 6 years, the Fondation H has been operating programs dedicated to supporting artists from Africa and its diasporas in their careers, facilitating public access to art, and actively participating in the development and structuring of the art scene in the Indian Ocean. While Antananarivo, the Malagasy capital, has no public contemporary art museum or art school, despite its immense historical and cultural heritage, the Fondation H just launched its new exhibition space there in a revitalized 100-year-old building last month. It also manages another more experimental space in Paris.
LARRY’S LIST spoke with the founder Hassanein Hiridjee about his motivations for establishing Fondation H, the current inaugural exhibition of Madame Zo, his happiest moment related to Fondaiton H, the first contemporary art library in Madagascar in the new space, and other topics.
Background
What motivated you to establish Fondation H?
Years ago, I met an artist from Madagascar called Madame Zo. Through discussions with her, and getting to know her personality and practice more and more, I became interested in the art scene of my country of origin. I then met other artists, such as Temandrota, another great artist from Madagascar, and decided to get involved in the local scene by creating a platform and a prize – Prix Paritana, now in its 7th edition – to support the local art scene. Fondation H was created in that respect, very organically, in 2017 in Madagascar. And of course the project grew and developed over the years.
Why is it important for you to set up a publicly accessible exhibition space?
Getting to interact with the public is key. Having opportunity to showcase artists from Madagascar and the African continent in Antananarivo is such an important mission. To me, art is a way to develop a critical “eye” on the world we live in, getting to understand images, voices, subtlety and poetry is absolutely essential to live in our current societies. That’s why all Fondation H exhibition spaces and programmes are entirely free. Everyone needs to have access, actual access, to these dialogues and ideas.
Why did you choose this current location for opening the new exhibition space?
Because this historical building – it’s more than 100 years old – in the city center is an architectural treasure. It was in very bad condition, having been unoccupied for years, and I felt our mission was also to give light and a new life to this heritage.
What are the missions of the Fondation H?
Fondation H is dedicated to supporting artists from Africa and its diaspora, creating a dialogue with international audiences, and participating to the structuring of the art scene in the Indian Ocean.
What are the ways to achieve these missions?
We have two exhibition spaces: a very large and ambitious one in Antananarivo, and another more experimental one in Paris. We also develop many programmes dedicated to supporting artists and/or audiences, such as Prix Paritana, Hay (mediation programme through which we welcome schools every single morning in Antananarivo during the week throughout the year), and Ainga (our official training center dedicated to artists), etc.
The Collection
How many artworks are in the Fondation H collection now?
It’s hard to tell, in French we have an expression that says “Quand on aime on ne compte pas”—when one loves something, one doesn’t calculate or count!
What are the criteria/How do you decide what artworks from the collection to show in the exhibition space?
The exhibitions spaces are not meant to showcase the collection! We are a lot more flexible than this. The way we work in Antananarivo is that we invite international curators, and they built the exhibitions, either picking works they “need” from the collection, inviting artists for residencies to create new works, or simply asking for works to be let by other institutions.
Do you keep a private art collection apart from the collection in the foundation?
There is only one collection, and it all belongs to Fondation H. All artworks I purchase are systematically given to Fondation H.
The programming
How much do you involve in the programming as well as the curating of exhibitions?
My team is very independent, and if I like to be aware of everything and of course the programming, I don’t interact directly or impose anything. It’s certainly not my role or my area of expertise. I love having discussions with the artists we host in residency or exhibit, and of course with our curators. I spend a lot of time doing this, but I don’t interact or impose on the artistic work.
Can you tell us more about this inaugural exhibition happening right now?
The inaugural exhibition of our new exhibition space in Antananarivo is dedicated to Madame Zo, an iconic artist from Madagascar, whose meeting opened my eyes on a new world – the world of art and artistic expression. We’ve invited a group of international curators (Bérénice Saliou, Alya Sebti, Hobisoa Raininoro and Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung) to dig into her work – never explored so far on a truly professional and large-scale perspective – and they did an amazing job at putting her commitment, joy, and absolute genius to life within the space.
What are the special upcoming programs that we definitely should not miss out?
Every Saturday morning, starting in June, we host events at Fondation H: conferences, workshops, discussions, encounters with artists or curators. Starting in July, every two Thursdays, we coordinate classes of history of art, firstly dedicated to young local artists (there aren’t any art school in the country), but of course open to all and free. And from 20th to 23rd September, we are coordinating the second cycle of the public programmes accompanying our inaugural exhibition.
The Fondation H will also host the country’s first library dedicated to contemporary art. Why do you think it is important?
Because books have such an important role in helping to build criticality. Because books are part of our collective memory, because they can be widely disseminated, because we miss them so much here in Antananarivo, and I felt this space couldn’t exist without writing! Orality is a huge part of our culture in Madagascar, and it’s all so complementary.
From the happiest moment to next steps
What was your happiest or most memorable moment since your foundation has been set up?
Every year when we announce the winners of Prix Paritana: such joyful moments, full of possibilities for the winners and ideas for the ones who will apply again the year after, we always have amazing evenings. And of course our recent opening in Antananarivo will be marked in my memory forever: a 5-day events and programmes, with guests and audiences coming from the city and all over the world, joining together to celebrate art.
What are on your wish list of 2023 regarding artworks and your foundation?
In 2023, we’ll be hosting three memorable residencies and exhibitions in our space in Paris, with artists Johanna Mirabel, Adji Dieye, and Ange Dakouo. I’m very much looking forward to this. And of course to continue seeing hundreds of kids and adults visiting our new space in Antananarivo every day!
What do you think are the key elements that determine the success of an art foundation?
Being true to yourself. Having the heart in the right place. Being extremely ambitious and creating the tools and means for this ambition to become reality.
What are your visions for the foundation in the next five and ten years respectively?
We have so many projects in the pipes! At the moment we are really focusing on the very first steps of our new space in Antananarivo and continuing to build our various programmes, and we are thinking a lot about developing our residency programme in Antananarivo.
All images: courtesy of Fondation H, Madagascar
Related: Fondation H
Instagram: @fondationh_
By Ricko Leung
