Vanessa Branson | |
|---|---|
 Branson in 2016 | |
| Born | Vanessa Gay Branson 3 June 1959 [1] |
| Other names | Vanessa Devereux |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Spouse | Robert Devereux (m. 1983;div. 1997) |
| Children | 4 |
| Mother | Eve Branson |
| Relatives | G. A. H. Branson (grandfather) Richard Branson (brother) |
| Website | vanessabranson |
Vanessa Branson (born 3 June 1959) is an English businesswoman and the founder of the Marrakech Biennale.
Branson is the youngest child of Eve Branson (née Evette Huntley Flindt; 1924–2021), a former ballet dancer and air hostess, [2] and Edward James "Ted" Branson (1918–2011), a barrister. [3] She was educated at Box Hill School. [4] [5] Her brother is founder of Virgin Group, Richard Branson. [6]
Branson opened and ran the Vanessa Devereux Gallery on Blenheim Crescent in London from 1986 until 1991. [7] She had married Robert Devereux in 1983 and they had four children before divorcing in 1997. [5] [8]
Between 1999 and 2004, Prue O’Day and Branson curated the Wonderful Fund collection which was first shown at the Museum of Marrackech. [9] Branson is the co-owner of a luxury boutique hotel in Marrakech, El Fenn, which she purchased in 2002 with entrepreneur Howell James. [6] [10] [11] In 2005 she became the president and founder of the Arts in Marrakech Festival, now known as the Marrakech Biennale. [11] [12] In October 2014, Branson was awarded the royal distinction of Officer of the Ouissam Aalouite [13] at the occasion of the ceremony inaugurating the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rabat for her contributions to Moroccan arts and culture. [14]
Branson also owns and runs Eilean Shona, an island on the west coast of Scotland at the entrance to Loch Moidart. [15] In collaboration with the Royal Society of Sculptors, a members-only residency has been created — a month-long opportunity for the winning member to live on the island and reflect upon and respond to the natural environment. [6] [16]
Branson's memoir, One Hundred Summers, was published in May 2020. [4] [17]
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970, and as of 2016 controlled 5 companies remaining of once more than 400.
Sherilyn Fenn is an American actress. She played Audrey Horne on the television series Twin Peaks for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award.
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Eilean Shona is a tidal island situated at the entrance of Loch Moidart, on the west coast of Scotland, just north of the Ardnamurchan Peninsula. The island is 525 hectares in area, with the highest point being Beinn a' Bhàillidh at 265 metres (869 ft). There are five other peaks of over 150 metres (490 ft) and views of the sea and off-shore islands including Rhum, Eigg and Skye. It is reached by a short boat ride from the mainland. The modern name may be from the Old Norse for "sea island". The pre-Norse Gaelic name, as recorded by Adomnán was Airthrago or Arthràigh, meaning 'foreshore island', similar to the derivation of Erraid.
The Arts festival in Marrakech, now the Marrakech Biennale, first took place in 2005. It was set up by Vanessa Branson and Abel Damoussi with the help of curator Danny Moynihan and Liberatum creator Pablo Ganguli. There were 2 editions of AiM in Marrakech in 2005 and 2007. respectively. In 2009, Vanessa Branson carried it forward as the Marrakech Biennale, the first major Trilingual festival in North Africa. It focused on Visual Art, Literature, and Film. Curated driven, with a main Visual Arts Exhibition, other arts exhibitions, installations, energetic fringe, discussions, debates and screenings based in iconic venues and settings of Marrakech and all under the patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI. The 3rd biennale took place in 2009 and was curated by Abdellah Karroum and featured work by Francis Alys, Yto Barrada, Lordana Longo and Batoul S'Himi amongst many others. The main visual exhibition was in the Palais Bahia with discussions and debates at other venues including ESAV film school, El Fenn and Ksour Agafay. The 4th biennale took place in 2012 and was curated by Dr Nadim Samman and Carson Chan and shown at multiple venues such as Théâtre Royal, Koutoubia Cisterns, Bank Al-Maghrib, Cyber Parc Arsat Moulay Abdeslam and Dar Al-Ma’mûn in Marrakech. A key focus was the artisanal traditions of Morocco and all new site-specific commissions were conceived and created on location with local craftspeople and manufacturers.The 5th biennale in 2014 and was curated Hicham Khalidi and took place in the 16th century El Badi Palace, the Dar Si Said, which houses the Museum of Moroccan Arts, the former Bank Al Maghrib in the middle of the Jemaa El Fna square. The 6th biennale, in 2016, was led by Amine Kabbage and was curated by Guggenheim Abu Dhabi curator Reem Fadda and its main venues were the 16th-century El Badi Palace and the 19th-century El Bahia Palace. It featured work including the sculpture À l'abri...de rien by Fatiha Zemmouri.
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El Fenn is a boutique hotel in Marrakech, Morocco opposite the Koutoubia Mosque. El Fenn has often been listed as one of the best hotels in the world by Condé Nast Traveler being included on their Gold List in 2017, 2021, 2022 and 2024. "El Fenn" means art in the Arabic language. El Fenn has 42 rooms, a roof top bar and restaurant, courtyard cafe and bar and several private swimming pools. The El Fenn shop stocks clothes and artifacts designed by people living and working in and around the city including a collaboration with a non-profit co-operative AlNour.