Emmanuelle Luciani and Lisa Vignoli Inaugurate the First Writing Residency in Marseille at the Heart of Pavillon Southway

Four years after its opening and the creation of its artistic residency, Pavillon Southway is expanding its scope by inviting writers—just as visual artists and musicians before them—to inhabit this room that is anything but blank, to develop their literary work within the walls of this extraordinary home.

The deep ties between literature and Marseille need no further proof: the city has more living poets than any other in France and carries in its DNA illustrious founding fathers such as Pagnol, Suares, and even Giono, later joined by Jean-Claude Izzo. Yet, there are few places where writing takes center stage.

It is to address this gap and fulfill a shared desire—to create the Villa Medici of Marseille—that curator Emmanuelle Luciani and journalist and writer Lisa Vignoli came together. Inspired by the Roman institution, they envisioned a place where, residency after residency, intellectual exchange permeates the walls, interdisciplinarity becomes a source of enrichment, and the spirit of creation is passed on.

For this inaugural year, they will welcome writers Arthur Larrue (Orlov la nuit, La diagonale Alekhine, Gallimard) and Nicolas Mathieu (Leurs enfants après eux, Prix Goncourt 2018, Connemara, and Le Ciel Ouvert, Actes Sud).

Here, they will work on their next literary project and, before leaving the walls of the pavilion, will leave behind—like all future residents—a handwritten Letter to Marseille. Through their compiled words, a piece of Marseille’s literary history will be written.

2.

Nicolas Mathieu

20 septembre au 15 octobre

Nicolas Mathieu est né en 1978 dans les Vosges et vit à Nancy. En 2014, il publie son premier roman Aux animaux la guerre, adapté pour la télévision avec Alain Tasma. En 2018, son deuxième livre, Leurs enfants après eux, remporte le prix Goncourt. Connemara, son dernier roman, a paru en 2022.

September 20 – October 15

Nicolas Mathieu was born in 1978 in the Vosges and currently lives in Nancy. In 2014, he published his first novel Aux animaux la guerre, which was adapted for television by Alain Tasma. In 2018, his second book, Leurs enfants après eux, won the prestigious Prix Goncourt. His latest novel, Connemara, was published in 2022.

• Un mot de Lisa Vignoli sur cette résidence :

“Chaque fois que je reviens dans cette ville que je connais par cœur, je la regarde différemment. J’ai envie de la raconter, mais assez vite, il m’arrive de me dire que je le fais de “trop près”. Une autre sensibilité, un autre scope m’intéresse. Peut-être, ces “étrangers” la verront-ils différemment? D’où que l’on vienne on est chez soi à Marseille, Marseille est un passeport, disait Jean-Claude Izzo. Il parlait aussi de cette familiarité qui est comme du pain à partager entre tous*. Cette résidence avec Emmanuelle, c’est entièrement ça!

• A word from Lisa Vignoli about this residency:

"Every time I return to this city that I know like the back of my hand, I see it differently. I want to tell its story, but soon enough, I catch myself thinking that I’m doing it 'too closely.' Another sensibility, another scope, intrigues me. Maybe these 'outsiders' will see it differently? No matter where we come from, we are at home in Marseille. Marseille is a passport, as Jean-Claude Izzo said. He also spoke of this familiarity that is like bread to be shared among all. This residency with Emmanuelle is exactly that!"

Un mot d’Emmanuelle Luciani sur cette résidence :

J’organise des résidences artistiques au Pavillon Southway à Marseille depuis 2019 et je voulais inviter à Marseille des écrivains. Lisa Vignoli, avec son expertise littéraire et notre passion commune pour la ville dont nous sommes originaires était, pour moi, la bonne personne pour co-organiser ces résidences d’écriture. Nous avons toutes deux à cœur d’apporter à Marseille le regard extérieur d’écrivains invités, et inscrire cette résidence littéraire dans le sillage des maisons d’artistes du sud de la France, qui ont été au xxe siècle des refuges de création, comme la demeure de Lily Pastré ou le Moulin gris à Sanary. Marseille a une grande vitalité culturelle, et il nous paraît important de contribuer à l’enrichir et à la pérenniser à travers le Pavillon Southway, aujourd’hui et un autre lieu demain, qui sait…

• A word from Emmanuelle Luciani about this residency:

"I have been organizing artistic residencies at Pavillon Southway in Marseille since 2019, and I wanted to invite writers to Marseille. Lisa Vignoli, with her literary expertise and our shared passion for the city we both come from, was, for me, the right person to co-organize these writing residencies. Both of us are deeply committed to bringing to Marseille the external perspective of invited writers, and to positioning this literary residency in the legacy of the artists' houses in the south of France, which, in the 20th century, served as sanctuaries of creation, such as Lily Pastré’s home or the Moulin gris in Sanary. Marseille has great cultural vitality, and it seems important for us to contribute to enriching and sustaining it through Pavillon Southway today, and perhaps another place tomorrow, who knows..."