Biography of Victoria Khouzami (1907-2007)
Victoria Khouzami was a pioneering Lebanese woman who left a lasting mark on academic and cultural history. She was the first Lebanese woman to earn a State Doctorate in French literature at the Sorbonne and dedicated her life to promoting education and intellectual exchanges between Lebanon and France. In 1948, she founded the Franco-Lebanese Cultural Association (ACFL) and led an ambitious project: the construction of the Maison du Liban at the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris. Through her dedication and hard work, she secured the support of the Lebanese government and the Gulbenkian Foundation, enabling the pavilion’s inauguration in 1965. Her efforts facilitated the hosting of high-level Lebanese students and strengthened academic ties between the two countries. In recognition of her commitment, she was promoted to Commander of the Legion of Honour in 2004.
Today, I measure the distance traveled. I have been able to give several thousand students the opportunity to grow, to “open themselves to the world,” and to keep unforgettable memories.
A poem-chair
“I adopted the chair, this familiar object, a few decades ago, at a time when I wanted to create art on a human scale in public spaces, while everywhere else people opted for the monumental: it is an object shaped like the body and serves the body. It is difficult to feel exclusive ownership of an object so universally shareable. It is mine when I occupy it, but if I leave it, someone else can claim it as their chair.” Michel Goulet, artist-sculptor
The project Prendre position
Prendre position is a sculpture-installation project of 47 chair-poems to mark the 100th anniversary of the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris. They were installed in a flowered meadow created especially for the occasion by the campus estate service.
This artistic installation was conceived by the Quebecois artist-sculptor Michel Goulet, in collaboration with François Massut, founding director of the collective Poésie is not dead.
Each house on the campus is represented by a chair, thanks to a donation from the Maison des étudiants canadiens and the support of the Labrenne group. Each of the 47 chairs is a unique work.
History and architecture of the house
The project to create a house in Paris to host Lebanese students dates back to 1946. The design of the Maison du Liban was entrusted to architects Jean Vernon and Bruno Philippe.
