The first bust of Marianne with the likeness of Joséphine Baker, unveiled Saturday in Fleury-Mérogis

Since Joséphine Baker’s entry into the Pantheon, Brian Baker-Bouillon, one of the 12 children of the rainbow family, travels several times a month to inaugurate streets, school groups, parks or media libraries which now bear his mother’s name. Last June, he named a school in Fleury-Mérogis. He returns there on Saturday to unveil the first bust of Marianne, with the likeness of his mother. The ceremony will take place at the Jacques Anquetil gymnasium, near the Town Hall, on the occasion of traditional greetings, in the presence of the Monaco ambassador to Paris.

The initiative goes to the mayor, Olivier Corzani, who wanted to commemorate in a way as original as it is symbolic, the centenary of the arrival in France of the creator of I have two loves as well as the 50th anniversary of his disappearance. Anxious to evoke the future by associating today’s youth with this symbol of the past, but also to support the emergence of new artists, it was decided, based on Brian’s idea, to choose the creator of this work among the students of the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

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With the agreement of its director, an internal competition concluded with the selection of five students responsible for proposing models evoking the artist, the resistance fighter and the activist for the defense of human rights. The choice of the jury, made up of members from outside the establishment, fell on Lucas Bouan Tsobgny, recent graduate. Brian Baker-Bouillon gave the green light after some modest recommendations on corrections around facial features. The presence of medals recalling his fights was immediately noted, but the question arose about the discreet presence of a banana belt. The fear of protests on the social networks of certain associations was swept aside by the mayor: there was no question of giving up this symbol associated with her beginnings as a dancer, which she wore for the first time at the Folies Bergère in April 1926, in a painting in the magazine “La Folie du Jour”.

Biopic international

The project for this Marianne was discussed three years ago in the offices of the Élysée Palace, then abandoned. The initiative of the mayor of Fleury-Mérogis has caught on since other municipalities in several cities in France are studying the possibility of following the movement. In the meantime, Brian Baker-Bouillon continues his family crusade. On January 28, he will attend Stéphane Rolland’s haute couture fashion show in Paris, dedicated to Joséphine, in the presence of Brigitte Macron, since it is taking place for the benefit of the Yellow Pieces operation. In the spring, he will travel to Lindt, Austria, then to Amsterdam where tribute exhibitions are in preparation. Trips which are in addition to those he made last year in Germany. He thus discovered a school group in Frankfurt for 1,200 students and a park in Berlin, both named “Joséphine Baker”.

He also follows, with the title of advisor, the evolution of the production of an international biopic of almost 3 hours in preparation for the cinema. The writing of the script took much longer than expected, but it has just been completed. A casting, in the presence of the director, is underway in the United States, in order to find the ideal performer. An 8-hour series is also being considered, but for television. Among the events planned this year is, in April, the inauguration of a high school in Sarlat. A nod to the Château des Milandes which now welcomes more than 200,000 visitors per year. The climax was set for October 2 in Paris. That evening but also in the days that follow, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées will celebrate the centenary of a Revue Nègre now present in history, and not just that of the show.