Odile Redolfi

“For me, supporting video art is a commitment” 

As director of the Hotel Windsor in Nice, she has developed the collection of artists’ rooms started by her uncle and launched Objectif Vidéo Nice, a festival dedicated to the moving image.

Jury’s Favourite Prize

Three generations of the Redolfi family have been at the helm of the Windsor, and a fourth is lying in ambush. This 4-star hotel close to the Promenade des Anglais, constructed in 1896 in the style of the Eiffel School, welcomed long-stay Anglo-Saxon and Russian guests at the beginning of the 20^th century. Acquired by the family in 1942, when Bernard Redolfi arrived in 1975, it became a place for art and travel. “After a first generation of frescoes by Antoine Baudoin, my uncle went to Ghent to visit ‘Chambre d’Amis’, Jan Hoet’s historical exhibition. He was inspired by what he saw there and developed a collection of conceptual contemporary art rooms at the hotel, the first created in 1989 with visual artist Joël Ducoroy, known for his writing on number plates,” explains Odile Redolfi. “I used to come here to play and sleep as a child and have been soaking up the hotel’s atmosphere ever since. It’s a world that has shaped my imagination, and I’m keen to continue enriching this collection. Artists have transformed 33 of the 57 rooms to date.”

Hotel Villa Victoria, Hotel West End, and others

One of the initiatives launched by Odile Redolfi is the Objectif Vidéo Nice festival, which invites to discover the medium of video and contemporary creativity in hotels. “The original idea was each room would become a ‘museum’ for three days. Galleries then took over the rooms. Since 2021, we have found new formats by working with foreign cultural institutes and their embassies and developed exhibitions with guest curators in other hotels in Nice.” In these times of virtual reality, video games, and smartphones, this festival also proposes to explore videos by local and international artists in atypical places such as Le 109, a contemporary creative hub, and museums such as the Espace de l’Art Concret in Mouans-Sartoux. “This festival requires at least a year’s preparation. Some guests enjoy this atmosphere, others less so. But for me, it’s a matter of commitment to contemporary creativity and pleasure offered to the public.”

Hôtel Windsor

If you walk into the Windsor today, you will discover Nicolas Rubinstein’s gilded spines hidden in branches in the visitors’ lounge and a surreal flight of elephants and bottles designed by the artist for the hotel bar, or you can immerse yourself in contemporary creativity in the bedrooms. Rooms created during Bernard Redolfi’s time include one entirely covered in gold leaf by Claudio Parmiggianni and another with sunlight streaming into it by François Morellet. Recent additions include a room playing with light and colour by artist Cécile Bart and a room by Aïcha Hamu. There is a restaurant featuring Niçoise cuisine with organic vegetables, a discreet garden full of nooks and crannies, and a spa offering natural and exotic treatments.

Création : 1896

Localisation : Nice

Activité : Hôtellerie-restauration

Dirigeante : Odile Redolfi

Effectifs : 20