French Institute Unveils Cultural Season For Spain 22
Madrid Metropolitan had the pleasure of attending the annual presentation of the French Institute´s cultural season of 2022.
It was held on the 3rd of February at the French Institute in Madrid and as with every year´s presentation it was full of surprises of what the coming year holds. This year the title is ‘Escenas Francesas’ or French Scenes with the motto, Together-creatives-Europeans.
This cultural year will focus on the subjects of, Our Europe, Our Society, Our Planet and Our Creations.
The presentation began with a speech from the French Ambassador in Spain, Jean-Michel Casa. The Ambassador explains that this year will witness an important focus on cinema, music, theatre, visual arts and sport which will all be represented in the hugely varied agenda.
France has just taken on the presidency of the European Union for six months, so this period is important to reflect on the goals which Europe and our society are currently facing. In the French Scenes programme there will be an important focus on Europe with its values, creativity and diversity.
The cultural events will take place all over the country at the six French Institutes located in Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia, Zaragoza and Sevilla and also with the 19 French alliances and all the French schools across Spain.
This cultural year will see the support from numerous important creatives, such as Mario Vargas Llosa, Nobel prize winner of literature. Mario was accepted into the Academie Francaise in 2021. Amongst other participations, Mario will present at a literary act about his strong relationship with French literature.
Blanca Li is this year´s Patron. Blanca is a choreographer, ballerina, set director for ballets, musicals and operas, director of cinema, actress and multimedia artist. She is the director of the Canal theatres in Madrid. Blanca has an impressive professional history, which began in New York when she was just 17 and attended the Martha Graham school for 5 years, following which upon her return to Europe she created her own contemporary dance school.
She has worked with renowned artists such as Coldplay, Beyonce or Paul McCartney and other important professionals such as Pedro Almodóvar and Jean-Paul Gaultier. Last year was an important year for Blanca when she became the first woman choreographer to enter the French academy of fine arts as a full member, recognising her contribution to dance.
In her speech, Blanca explained to us some of her proposals for the season, such as ‘Canal Street’, a small urban dance festival paying homage to French and Spanish Hip-hop.
Martin Chénot, the director of the French Institute of Spain and delegate director of the French institute of Madrid presented the content for the cultural season which will include no less than 70 different events over the year.
This year will also see a focus on woman taking the initiative with the project, Mewern Europa. There will also be focus on women in migration and the many dangers they face when they migrate, especially with children.
Protecting our planet and climate change will also be important subjects during this new cultural season. Amongst numerous creative events, the prestigious ARCO Madrid, the international contemporary art fair will take place from the 23rd until the 27th of February.
To finalise the presentation, we enjoyed a performance by La Chica, the hugely talented French/Venezuelan musician. La Chica will be back to perform at the French institute of Madrid on the 3rd of March.
Special thanks were given to this year’s sponsors of the cultural season 2022, Orange, Enegas, Carrefour and media partner TV5.
All the information about the schedule for the cultural season can be found at www.institutfrancais.es.
All photos are courtesy of the French Institute of Spain.
Abi Lindsay Clark
