Why Tanagra?
"Tanagra, a village located in Greece (Beotie). Center of production of tiny clay figures, mostly in the 4th century BC". (Larousse). By extension, the name "Tanagra" has become a synonym of female beauty and elegance.
The name was chosen by BillyBoy* and Jean Pierre Lestrade /Lala, Founders of the Fondation, to evoke one of it's specificity: the approach of the history of high fashion and its influence on fashion dolls.
For this new site, we have chosen the image of a cube with one door, as a symbol of the museum we would like to create and which, hopefully, will become reality in a Swiss city. Under consideration is their home town of Delémont.
Goals & Means
Established in Spring 1998, in Lausanne, Switzerland and now in Delémont, Canton du Jura, Switzerland, the Fondation TANAGRA is a private, non-profit cultural organisation, which has four specific goals:
- The conservation and presentation of a unique collection of historic high fashion garments, fashion accessories and jewellery from the greatest names of French haute couture, ranging from Paul Poiret, Jeanne Lanvin to Elsa Schiaparelli, Coco Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent, to name just a few.
- The presentation, conservation (and sometimes restauration) of a unique collection of fashion dolls from the 19th and 20th-centurys, as well as antique and vintage toys and antique doll's houses from the same eras.
- The conservation and presentation of a unique collection of Mdvanii doll creations by BillyBoy* and Lala, as well as a large body of artworks by BillyBoy*, also a principle benefactor of the Fondation and leading expert in the fields of fashion, dolls and art. All these collection are the private property of the Founders and on permanent loan to the Fondation Tanagra.
- To support the work of contemporary artists, writers and poets around the world. It is one of the Fondation TANAGRA’s key goals to help present the art of our times.
- To receive donations of antique and historic pieces and objects from private people who wish to preserve them in a cultural space. The artists BillyBoy* & Lala have been donating for years examples of their own artworks to the Fondation Tanagra to built up its own collection.
A virtual cultural space...for the moment
The Fondation will continue to develope complimentary exhibitions by joint venture, such as those, amongst others, of the recent past:
- the "Mdvanii, Memories from Earth" exhibition organized with The Maison d'Ailleurs Museum of Science Fiction in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland (September 2001- January 2002)
- the "Poupées" exhibition, held at La Halle Saint Pierre in Paris (January-July 2004)
- the "Mdvanii, ceci n'est pas une poupée" exhibition at the mudac and Musée de l'Elysée in Lausanne (2006-2007).
- and more recently two exhibitions in two cultural places of the city of Delémont, at Artsenal and Galerie Paul Bovée (SEE in ART section)
The Fondation Tanagra will also continue to publish books, catalogues and CD-roms on their specialized subjects.
