Our Life, Our Hiroshima is an interview series highlighting individuals involved in various fields of work after relocating to Hiroshima from each of the G7 countries (France, the US, the UK, Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada).
The series spotlights each individual’s view of lifestyle in Hiroshima and its charms through the lens of their unique background.
Our series begins with Adeline Le Mette, a native of France. We ask this art gallery owner and artist why she chose to launch a business overseas and how she settled on Hiroshima.
Interviewer/writer: Kaoru Nakamichi
Photographer: Kenichi Asano
Editor: Takeshi Maruta (CINRA, Inc.)
Adeline: I came to Hiroshima as an exchange student about 10 years ago. Japan’s anime and manga have been popular in France since before my childhood, and there were many events highlighting the delights of Japanese culture through washoku and kimono, so I have been interested in Japan for a long time.
As a student at the University of Orléans (France), I participated in an exchange program, allowing me to spend a year at Hiroshima City University. I fell in love with the school and the city, and after realizing that a year was too short, I decided to proceed to graduate school there.
Adeline: There were seven candidate schools, including Nagoya University and Osaka University, but the fact that Hiroshima City University had a Faculty of Arts was the deciding factor. I had long wanted to study art in Japan, and as this university had professors who were even known in France, I felt it was the place to pursue my dream of studying painting.
However, the exchange program was with the Faculty of International Studies at the time, and there were no art classes there. After I had been in Hiroshima for some time and decided I'd like to proceed to graduate school, I consulted with professors in the Faculty of Art, who advised me to expedite my study and practice in art classes as quickly as possible.
I was allowed to take classes along with third-year oil painting majors. I juggled mornings with International Studies classes and afternoons with art classes in the Faculty of Art. I couldn't speak Japanese at all in those days but was enthusiastically supported by a professor fluent in English. That enabled me to proceed to the PhD program, and I ended up spending about seven years as a student.
Adeline: Yes. It was such a long time that I didn’t really think of coming back to France (smiling). I made friends, and those surrounding me became like a second family. Staying on in Hiroshima seemed like the most natural thing in the world.
I wondered what career to pursue after graduating and decided to follow my first love: art. I had always dreamed of opening my art gallery while working as an artist, and I decided to give that a try rather than searching for a job.
Adeline: I established my company and opened L Gallery in 2020. I organize and run exhibitions for a variety of artists. As a jewellery designer, I also design and create under my own brand, known as “L.”
In my PhD program at Hiroshima City University, I added jewelry making to oil painting to hold a double major. Paintings are enjoyed with the eyes, but if you create jewellery, people can actually wear your work. That is what inspired me to launch my brand.
Since I am still my only employee, I sometimes find it difficult to keep two businesses going. Last year, I worked on opening a collaborative gallery in SUNMALL(shopping mall) located in Hiroshima’s Naka-ku, and now I would like to refocus my attention on “L” jewellery.
Adeline: Yes, it was. It was so tough that I wish I never have to do it again (laughing). As a student, you can just enjoy soaking up experiences. Adults, however, don’t have that luxury. I started my company almost three years ago, and I feel like I’ve studied twice as hard as I did in college (smiling). However, I can really feel the progress corresponding to that effort.
I don’t see my college friends as much now because they are busy or their jobs have taken them far away, but my mentors from the University continues to offer active support.
I launched L Gallery with exhibitions of my mentors' works. I have wonderful memories of that first solo career experience, handling the work of the professors whom I also respect as artists. I have been in Hiroshima for ten years now, and find joy in the fact that those human connections have been sustained the entire time.
Adeline: I feel Hiroshima is a city full of kind people. When I was in trouble, there was always someone who generously helped or guided me. That is something I have liked consistently about Hiroshima during the past decade.
An embarrassing episode which epitomises what I had just told you happened to me shortly when I relocated to Hiroshima for the first time. I was on a bus loaded with things to move to the student centre. As I was about to get off the bus, I realised I had forgotten to bring my wallet.
I could barely speak Japanese at the time and did not have a cell phone. I somehow managed to say “saifu nai” (“no wallet”) to the bus driver. I had to stay onboard until we reached the bus centre, and was truly at a loss, laden down with so many bags…
Adeline: I didn’t have the money to go home and was unable to communicate in Japanese. I broke down in tears. The bus driver asked if I was okay, and gave me ¥1,000 to go and fetch my wallet.
I somehow managed to use the few words I knew to utter a heartfelt “arigato gozaimasu!” Thanks to him, I was able to return home. What would I have done without that bus driver’s help?
Of course, everybody responds differently, but I thought it was incredibly kind of him to help a stranger like that.
Adeline: Actually, I still tend to missplace my cell phone, but someone always kindly returns it to the closest information centre, so it has never been permanently lost or stolen. That’s one of the incredible things about Japan.
Adeline: Some people seem to assume I’m a tourist, a problem not limited to Hiroshima. I suppose it’s somewhat inevitable since I’m of a different race, but it is still disappointing since I’ve lived in Hiroshima for more than 10 years now and am so attached to the city.
Adeline: I’m glad to see inbound tourists visiting Hiroshima nowadays despite COVID-19. Being from France makes it easy for me to reach out to overseas artists. One of the reasons I situated L Gallery near the Peace Memorial Park was that I would like to make it function as a bridge linking Hiroshima and other countries. I hope to enliven the art scene in Hiroshima by enabling its residents to experience a wider range of art.
On the other hand, I would like L Gallery to attract overseas visitors as well, facilitating interactions with Hiroshima artists while introducing local artwork to tourists from abroad. I hope my unique background allows me to foster such a gallery, creating connections between cultures.
Adeline: I would also love to establish a gallery in Paris to create a more three-dimensional interaction between Japan and other countries through art. My main goal is to pursue my work on parallel tracks as an artist and through my gallery.
Adeline: Of course. I can’t imagine living anywhere else at the moment. I can’t see my family in France very often, but other than that, everything I need is right here in Hiroshima.
If an overseas friend asked me what living in Hiroshima was like, I would warmly recommend it. It’s not huge like Paris or Tokyo, but everything you need is right here. One of the charms is that you can find the beauty of nature within city limits once you move away from the downtown area. I often take a refreshing walk in the mountains with my dog after work.
Adeline: After living here, I hoped that others would also come to understand the charms of today’s Hiroshima.
I’m sure that people overseas view Hiroshima, as I did, as a city of peace bearing a history of the atomic bomb. Understanding that past is crucial, but I also hope people will get to know the many outstanding cultural features which grace Hiroshima today.
So, I want to promote that aspect of Hiroshima to the world through art. I believe peace and art are connected.
Adeline Le Mette, CEO.
Adeline Le Mette Co., Ltd.
French artist. Plans and manages international artists' exhibitions at L Gallery in Naka-ku, Hiroshima City. Also creates jewellery under the brand name “L.”
