Béatrice Leroux-Huitema is 57 years old and founder of Les Mardis de l’Art and Les Dits de l’Art. When Béatrice enters a room, you immediately notice her tall silhouette, her demeanour and her posture – perhaps the result of her many years of classical dancing.

Never fitting the mould with her wardrobe and hairstyle choices, this is a woman who forges her own unique style and energy which is reflected in her career path too.

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How it all began for Béatrice Leroux-Huitema

Originally from Nantes and trained in legal affairs, Béatrice Leroux-Huitema spent the 90s working in a local city council office before becoming the head of external communication in the Pays de Loire region. Weary of the obscurities of political life, Béatrice didn’t hesitate in returning to study in 2000. This time, she focused on an area of study close to her paternal family’s Dutch origin: Art History. Completing her degree at the École du Louvre, Béatrice now specialises in contemporary art.

A new opportunity

Arriving in Bordeaux with her husband and children in tow, Béatrice was unable to find work in line with her professional aspirations. Stung by this experience, but with plenty of courage, she dared to set up her own company from scratch. Les Mardis de l’Art offers education in Art History through conferences and trips accompanied by professional speakers from the field. Béatrice now lives in Paris, where she was able to develop a successful Parisian branch called Les Dits de l’Art. Trained in communication and teaching, Béatrice Leroux-Huitema also finds the time to teach at art schools.

Simple pleasures

A fan of cooking, you would often come across Béatrice Leroux-Huitema with her nose buried in spices at Passage Brady. The next day you could find her in a gallery standing enraptured in front of a photograph of an emerging Chinese artist. Her secrets for revitalisation are as follows: taking a beachside holiday at her villa, having dinner with friends in her spacious kitchen and reading (comics included) – a curious woman indeed!

Interview with Béatrice Leroux-Huitema

Being a Mid&Plus:

Has your Mid&Plus stage of your life gone well?
Yes.

In your opinion, what key term defines a Mid&Plus?
Active.

How do you pass the time?
Very well. At the moment, I am working on my physical fitness.

Bouncing back

What triggered your new project?
Moving to a new city with no relatives or connections.

Has your gender ever forced you to give up certain projects in your life?
Yes, but they led me to other projects! In the end, it was a positive result!

Staying positive

What are your tricks, hints, or daily driving forces to live positively each day?
How lucky we are to be alive! Take advantage of everything that is possible to discover.

Priorities

What are your priorities at the moment? (from most to least important)
My relationship with my partner and family comes first, next is myself, and then my job and my friends.

Being comfortable with yourself/well-being/looks

Do you have a disciplined approach to training your mental and physical form?

Dancing and running, reading and artistic curiosity, clean-cooking (staying away from frozen and pre-prepared foods) and work!

Do you have a daily ritual?
A freshly squeezed lemon juice on an empty stomach every morning.

What’s your go-to outfit?
This depends on how I’m feeling at the time and on what needs to be done that day…. I change my outfit between gardening and visiting the museum, or between cooking and attending a conference. I need a look that I can play around with, that comes together as a whole.

Campaigning

What cause do you campaign for these days?
Educational training and the environment.

Are you prepared to give your time?
I already give a lot of it.

Being inspired

Which book do you have on your bedside table at the moment?
An excellent thriller: ‘Hérétiques’ by the Cuban author Leonardo Padura Fuentes.

Which phrase, book, film or CD summarises your life as a woman?
Which phrase? “Tomorrow is another day” (M’ame Scarlett) because there will always be something to do, to see, to listen to and to give! Books, films or CDs do not really suit me. These stories are about other people’s lives and not about my own with all its faults and qualities, its discoveries, its sacrifices, its highs and its lows.

Which women of the past or today inspire you?
The revolutionary women who weren’t afraid in a male-dominated world, such as Flora Tristan or Janis Joplin.

Passing down knowledge

If you think about your mother, your grandmothers, do you identify with them, as a woman of your time?
My maternal ancestors always worked (as a state-school teacher, pharmacist). They were modern and ahead of their time in everything: their goals, commitments, and their child-raising.

Which values or ideas do you wish to convey to others?
Self-respect and respect for others.

Have you ever studied art? What style of art and where? Tell us all about your love of art in the comments box below!

Inspiring women: collaborative partnership with MidetPlus.fr

[This article was originally written in French by author: Christine Fleurot]

Here at MyFrenchLife™ we have pleasure in announcing our collaborative partnership with French site MidetPlus.fr to produce this new series: ‘Inspiring women’.
This article first appeared on MidetPlus.fr and we have translated it into English for your added pleasure: publishing in both, French and English

Mid&Plus takes a decidedly positive view of women in the world and produces wonderful portraits of inspiring women.
This collaboration enables you to read this series of inspiring life stories in English here on MyFrenchLife™ – MaVieFrançaise® magazine and also to visit midetplus.fr for further inspiration and read about Fondatrice Marie-Hélène Cossé.
We hope that you enjoy it.

To meet more of these Inspiring Women
visit our virst interview