Clement Xavier X Alice Boner Institute
January X, 2024 - Villa Swagatam, inaugurated in April 2023 by the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, positions itself as a platform for cultural exchanges between French and Indian artists, designers and writers. In line with eminent figures such as the painter S.H. Raza, Nobel Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore, screenwriter and author Jean-Claude Carrière, and theatre director Ariane Mnouchkine, Villa Swagatam, as a network of local partners across the two countries, aims to strengthen the dialogue between France and India in the fields of literature, performing arts, and arts & crafts. Throughout this first year, the residencies are happening exclusively in India, in 16 different locations which have in common an expertise on Indian art forms (embroidery, puppetry, dance, illustrated books, etc.), a rich and unique culture as well as an ability to interact with local key players. Thanks to this programme, French residents are given the opportunity to discover very specific aspects of the Indian cultural landscape.
Clément Xavier: the taste for cross-cultural collaboration
In the spotlight of Villa Swagatam's residency in Varanasi is Clement Xavier, a graphic novelist who has made a mark in the literary world with his noteworthy works such as Yékini le roi des arènes - “Set up in Senegal” which earned him the Prix révélation at Angoulême festival in 2015, Geronimo, Mémoires d'un résistant apache on the lives of Native Americans or Jujit suffragettes, les amazones de Londres on the British feminist movement of the early twentieth century, Clément is renowned for his documentary approach and his capacity to delve deep into any new subject he has chosen, avoiding the usual clichés. In his application, he explained
‘’Scriptwriting is a fairly solitary exercise. Therefore, I love to write documentary comics, because they are a way of discovering, and meeting other people and other cultures. I started to write a comic book project on the Ganges, which would allow me to tackle both cultural and ecological issues. A residency would allow me to undertake the journey necessary to write my story.”
He spent one month at the Alice Boner Institute residency and then went on to pursue his journey in Uttarakhand along with his partner Lisa Lugrin, who had joined him as the illustrator of his comics.
“Villa Swagatam enabled me to move from a rather vague, theoretical project to a concrete one. It was during my residency that I found the narrative device that would enable me to build a plot while accessing information. Then there were all the contacts that Anoop Sharma from Alice Boner residency gave me and the intense encounters that brought, enriching my subject and opening up new perspectives”, writes Clément Xavier.
Alice Boner Institute: creating deep-rooted connections
The Alice Boner Institute stands as a repository for the artistic traditions of India through published books, manuscripts, and a rich art collection. It is a space that nurtures academic and artistic research through the artists and authors they welcome throughout the year. The ABI has had a long-standing relationship with France, as early as in 1940’s when the French historian and Indologist Alain Daniélou met Alice Boner and they became close friends. When he later moved to Varanasi to study music, Daniélou became a regular visitor at gatherings in the Institute.
Alice Boner Institute residency targets individuals whose research deals with the culture of India, or for whom the cultural context of Varanasi is integral. That’s why the presence of Clément was inevitable as the main character of his next comic, Ganga, which displays travels from Kolkata to the Himalayas through Varanasi. As soon as he arrived in Varanasi, Clément Xavier dived into his subject by attending conferences about Ganga and Indian comics at Banaras Hindu University and met with many local residents. When he wasn’t working on his storyboard at the Institute, Clément was walking and discovering each square meter of the sacred city and its river which plays an integral part in the lives of his inhabitants.
He also dedicated a fair amount of his time to sharing his passion for comics with the local youth. He gave a workshop at Varanasi Art University as well as a series of workshops at the Nirmal School. These interactions benefited both the local schools and the residents, in a spirit of reciprocity and cross-cultural exchanges essential to Villa Swagatam’s essence.
“His enthusiasm and energy to organize graphic novel workshops at the University was impressive and received very well by students. Many students have even approached us to know when the next workshop would be! Clément mingled with other residents, staff and visitors of the Institute well and was able to adapt to Varanasi seamlessly.” says Harsha Vinay, director of Alice Boner Institute.
Clément’s unique discovery of India
While doing his residence in Varanasi, Clément Xavier was given the opportunity by the French Institute in India to participate in the Shillong Literary Festival (Meghalaya), where he shared his experience as a comic artist with the audience and interacted with the local literary scene, thereby enhancing the ties with writers from this region of India.
After his residency, he continued his discovery of the Ganges by travelling north towards his source and meeting researchers, scientists and activists working around protecting the sacred river.
He submitted his first draft of the project to renowned French publisher Futuropolis who has agreed to turn it into a book. We will now have to wait for a couple of years to have it see the light since completing a comic book usually takes around two years.
With Villa Swagatam, the French Embassy invites you to delve into the unique experiences of creative practitioners like Clement Xavier and witness the creative synergy emerging from this Indo-French collaboration. The program aims to strengthen the bonds and cultivate lasting connections and better mutual understanding between the two nations.
About Clément Xavier
Clément Xavier was born in Maputo in 1981. After studying at the Angoulême School of Comics, he founded the publishing house Na éditions. He creates comics and Graphic novels: Yékini le roi des arènes, published by Flblb (Winner of the Prix révélation at Angoulême festival in 2015), followed by Geronimo, Mémoires d'un résistant apache et Jujit suffragettes, les amazones de Londres, about suffragettes who train in Jujutsu to defend themselves (winner of the Prix Château de Cheverny for historical comic in 2021) published by Delcourt. Also with the same publisher, he has adapted Gérard Noiriel's Histoire Populaire de la France into a comic book. He is also working with the publisher Glénat, writing the undercover investigation by Elizabeth Freeman into the horrific lynching of Jesse Washington (Waco horror, 2020), and with the publisher Actes Sud l'an 2 on a comic about Frances Gabe, a woman who turned her house into a giant dishwasher to escape the household chores so unevenly divided between the sexes (Washing Town, 2022).
About the French Institute in India
The French Institute in India (Institut Français en Inde) is the educational, scientific, and cultural department of the Embassy of France in India. It facilitates academic and scientific exchanges between higher institutes of learning and research, enables student mobility, and promotes the French language as well as artistic and cultural dialogue. Cooperation between India and France takes place through several sectors: Arts and Culture, Books and Ideas, French Language and Education, Study in France programme, Academic Partnerships, Science and Technology, as well as Innovation and Multimedia.