The Villart Foundation (TVF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization headquartered in Orange County, California. Established to foster global artistic exchange and support creative inquiry, TVF organizes international artist residency programs and cultural initiatives across diverse coastal geographies.
In addition to our California base, we operate with correspondent offices in: Honolulu, (Oahu) Hawai‘i; Portland, Maine; London, United Kingdom; Barcelona, Spain; Cannes, France; La Maddalena, (Sardinia) Italy, Bodrum, Türkiye; Istanbul, Türkiye; and Bali, Indonesia.
These satellite locations reflect the global spirit and maritime orientation of our programs—connecting artists, institutions, and communities across oceans and continents.
Our Mission
The mission of The Villart Foundation is to provide time, space, and contextual inspiration for artists by hosting high-quality, site-specific residency programs. Through our curated residencies and post-residency initiatives, we aim to support artistic practices that explore, reflect on, and expand the cultural, emotional, and historical dimensions of our relationship to place and to the natural world.
We believe that meaningful creative work is born not only of solitude and craft, but of environment. By placing artists in immersive settings, we enable them to detach from the routine of daily life and reconnect with deeper sources of inspiration and reflection.
As part of our core mission, The Villart Foundation is dedicated to supporting the preservation and continued relevance of traditional marine painting techniques and styles. We recognize the cultural and historical value embedded in classical maritime art forms, from oil seascapes to ship portraiture, and seek to uphold these legacies through mentorship, education, and exhibition. At the same time, we are equally committed to fostering new interpretations and methodologies that expand the art of the sea into the 21st century and beyond—welcoming innovation in medium, narrative, and perspective. By bridging past and future, tradition and experimentation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to the ongoing evolution of maritime art on a global scale.
Our Vision
Our vision is to cultivate a global network of artists and institutions engaged in thoughtful dialogue, experimental practice, and shared cultural heritage. We seek to preserve traditional art forms while supporting their evolution in conversation with contemporary mediums and technologies.
The Villart Foundation envisions a future where art—rooted in place but globally connected—continues to challenge, connect, and illuminate the world we inhabit. Through sustained artistic exchange and institutional partnerships, we work toward a more inspired, empathetic, and aesthetically engaged global society.
Founder’s Welcome:
Dear Artists, Curators, Patrons, and Fellow Seekers of the Sublime,
Welcome to The Villart Foundation—where art meets the ocean, and humanity meets its oldest muse.
Since the dawn of life on Earth, every journey has begun with water. We are, all of us, born of the sea. From the primeval tides that first cradled life to the salty tears that bind us to one another, the ocean remains our origin, our mirror, and—often—our return.
The Villart Foundation was born of this belief: that Homo sapiens, ever curious and ever longing, has an eternal relationship with the sea. Our species has never ceased to trace the horizon, to build vessels, to cast nets—both literal and artistic—into the unknown. And where sailors have charted waters, artists have charted feeling.
We honor this lineage.
Our residencies are a tribute to this shared history. They are held not in studios nor cities, but in carefully chosen waterfront villas across the globe—from the volcanic coasts of Hilo to the wind-kissed cliffs of Shetland. They are havens where artists can listen to the sea, and in its rhythms, find their own.
At The Villart Foundation, we hold a profound reverence for maritime art and the traditions it carries: the careful brushstroke, the studied light, the patience of oil and pigment. We are committed to preserving these classical modes—not as relics, but as living languages. Yet we also embrace the new: we recognize that to explore the ocean today is not only to render ship portraits and nautical scenes, but to dive into virtual realities, soundscapes, and digital depths that reimagine what maritime art can be.
Sometimes, this journey reveals itself in the flicker of a VR headset that transports us to a coral crevice in the Red Sea. Sometimes, it hides in the glint of turquoise light beneath a curling wave off the North Shore of Oʻahu. In all forms, this is the same journey: a return to the Blue Planet that birthed us.
Each of our artists also contributes an Odyssey Piece—a final work completed after the residency, once the tides of experience have ebbed into reflection. This piece, born of both immersion and distance, becomes the artist’s own navigational star. It is our signature ritual—a gesture toward the sea, and a message in a bottle to the future.
Whether you are here as a resident, a partner, or a curious visitor, I invite you to explore our programs and our philosophy. The ocean has many shores, and many stories yet untold. We hope to be a lighthouse for some of them.
With gratitude and hope,
Alfie Atabay, PhD
CEO, theVillart.org
The Villart Foundation
The Villart Foundation 