Xavier James Frederick

Xavier James Frederick is a Franco-British writer living and working in Brussels since 2013. He is currently working on a novel with themes revolving around the ever-increasing presence of radical nationalisms, the place culture and tradition take in the context of a fractured society. His work is influenced by his experience within Belgian society, particularly as a French speaker in a bilingual-to-some-extent Belgium.

Working within the residency will give Xavier the opportunity to delve deeper into the schism that separates Wallonia and Flanders’ cultural scenes, an invaluable aspect in the development of his book as he seeks to build a body of testimonies and statements that deal with police brutality in Belgium but also take an approach that might extend to encompass wider institutional discrimination. Emphasis is put on experiencing such dialogue where a language barrier might be a determining factor in the exchange.

Xavier (1993, France) arrived in Belgium in 2013 after studying for a year at the fine arts school of Montpellier. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Narrative Experimentation, Speculative narration at the Ecole de Recherche Graphique, Brussels in 2016. He then followed the contemporary writing classes at La Cambre school of art in Brussels for a year and has been studying since 2022 for a Masters’ degree in History of Arts and Archaeology, Museums, Conservation and Restoration of Movable Heritage at ULB, Free University of Brussels.