Meet the Team •
Meet the Team •
With over 190 public placements across 33 states, Jane DeDecker is celebrated for her ability to capture humanity in bronze. With a mission to honor and give visibility to American women who fought for equality, freedom, and justice through the arts, she has created powerful portraits of figures such as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and Daisy Bates. When presented the opportunity to honor another American woman who fought for equality and justice, Joséphine Baker, Jane was immediately inspired.
In recognition of her efforts to honor women’s contributions to history, she was named Colorado Woman of the Year 2022 for her leadership in the campaign to create the first-ever Women’s Suffrage National Monument on the National Mall in Washington, D.C..
Sculptor
Jane DeDecker
Image by Perry Ralph Photography
Alice Fennelly grew up in Loveland, Colorado, a town rooted in nature (at the foot of the Rocky Mountains) and art (home to America’s largest sculpture show and a vibrant bronze sculptor community). After searching around Paris for an environment full of nature and beauty, she discovered the Vésinet and fell in love. Now, permanently based in France, she uses her professional experience in tourism and brand strategy to create French-American cultural projects.
Project Founder & Manager
Alice Fennelly
Image by Perry Ralph Photography
French Non-Profit Partner
La Fondation pour le Vésinet
With the mission to renovate, improve, and promote the natural and urban heritage of Le Vésinet, the Fondation pour Le Vésinet, founded by François Gluck, is a key partner that promotes and manages several aspects of the project. Under the aegis of the Fondation de France, which is recognized as being of public utility, the Fondation pour Le Vésinet automatically grants French donors to the Joséphine Baker commemorative sculpture tax reductions on income tax as well as the IFI (wealth tax).
American Non-Profit Partner
The French-American Cultural Foundation
The French-American Cultural Foundation is committed to advancing and enhancing partnerships between France and America through initiatives in the arts, business, and sciences. They celebrate their shared culture and a way of life that emphasizes independence, creativity, and excellence. As an American non-profit organization with tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3), donations to the Joséphine Baker commemorative sculpture through the French-American Cultural Foundation are tax deductible in the United States.
Collaborator
Brian Scott Bagley
Founder, Musée Joséphine Baker et des Afro-Descendants de Paris
Brian Scott Bagley is an American-born choreographer, historian, and cultural entrepreneur dedicated to preserving the legacy of Joséphine Baker. After early work in museums in Maryland, he came to Paris, where his role as choreographer in Jérôme Savary’s musical Searching for Joséphine Baker inspired a lifelong mission.
He founded the Musée Joséphine Baker et des Afro-Descendants de Paris in 2021, which now holds more than 4,000 artifacts. Through walking tours, exhibitions, and educational programs, Bagley merges art, history, and innovation. His initiatives include tactile exhibitions, archival projections, and the Jardin Secret project, combining cultural heritage with sustainability and S.T.E.M. education. Today, Bagley continues to lead the museum toward establishing a permanent home in Paris - a living space where visitors can celebrate, learn, and grow with Josephine Baker’s enduring legacy.
