French Presidency of the EU 2008 Print
French Presidency EU 2008 cultural season

 Editorial by Laurence Auer
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  The French Presidency of the European Union: Celebrating Culture!

Between July and December 2008, France will use the opportunity of its EU presidency to develop cultural projects in conjunction with other member countries, with the aim of promoting cultural diversity and encouraging cross-cultural exchange.

'Paris Calling', a cross-Channel celebration of international theatre arts beginning January 2009, will receive its official launch on 13 October at a special peformance of in-i, the new piece featuring French actress Juliette Binoche and British dancer Akram Khan, playing at the National Theatre from 18 September to 20 October.

Another joint project, 'DancEUnion', organised under the auspices of the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC), will bring together emerging dancers and choreographers from across the EU for four days of performances at London's Southbank Centre on 19 – 21  September.

And on 2 October, a major new international exhibition 'Le Corbusier - The Art of Architecture' will premiere in Liverpool, European Capital of Culture for 2008.

These are just three of many events planned across the UK this autumn. A lively programme of talks, performances and exhibitions will range across artforms and engage with topics as different as multi-lingualism in schools, the legacy of '68, and documentary and the arts.

Laurence Auer, Director of the Institut français


  June July August September October November December
JUNE
21 June Fête de la musique (Music Day), part of the 'West End Festival' at the Alliance française, Glasgow. 
www.afglasgow.org.uk		Music  
21 JuneFête de la musique (Music Day – 'Explore Sites and Sounds'), an Exhibition Road Cultural Group project organised in collaboration with 17 cultural venues on and around Exhibition Road, London.
www.exhibitionroadmusicday.org		 Musicmusic day 08
24 June'EU Presidency: Over to France - La Présidence de l'UE en perspective', London School of Economics.
www.lse.ac.uk 		Conference
 
25 - 27 June'L'Esprit de L'Exposition', conference on the Centenary of the Franco-British Exhibition of 1908, organised by the Franco-British Cultural Group. Institut français du Royaume-Uni, London.
www.chcsc.uvsq.fr/colloques/coll_centenaireexpolondres		Conference franco british expo
30 Jun - 2 JulyAnnual conference of the Society for French Studies; presentation of the projects for the French Presidency, University of Liverpool.
www.sfs.ac.uk		 Conference
 
JULY
4 July Reception to mark the start of the French Presidency of the EU and the launch of the National Theatre's annual 'Watch this Space' festival, featuring five new French circus and theatre companies.
www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/wts		 Theatre Arts 
16 July - 29 AugExhibition commemorating the centenary of the Franco-British Exhibition of 1908. Opening (15 July) attended by Mark Thompson (Director General of the BBC) and M. Maurice Gourdault-Montagne, French Ambassador to the United Kingdom. With the participation of the BBC and the European Commission Representation in the UK.
www.bbc.co.uk 		Visual Artsfranco britannique expo
AUGUST
2 Aug
 Roland Tchakounté (jazz). Institut français d'Ecosse, Edinburgh.
www.roland-tchakounte.com		Musicroland tchakounte
25 - 29 Aug 'Capturing the Essence of Performance: The Challenges of Intangible Heritage' – SIBMAS (International Association of Libraries and Museums of the Performing Arts) conference, Glasgow. Organised by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and the Institut français d'Ecosse, Edinburgh.
www.sibmas.org/English/sibmas		Conference

SEPTEMBER
2 Sept - 5 OctPortraits of film directors by Juliette Binoche, British Film Institute.
www.bfi.org.uk		Visual Artsbinoche
© Brigitte Lacombe
3-5 Sept'Les Voix des Français: usages et représentations' – AFLS (Association for French Language Studies) conference, University of Oxford.
www.afls.net		Conference
  
11 - 12 Sept 'Our Inner Animal and Theories of Creativity' - interdisciplinary conference, Department of European Languages, University of Aberysthwyth. 
www.aber.ac.uk/~eulwww/		Conference
 inner animal
19 - 21 SeptDancEUnion – contemporary European dance festival. Organised by EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture) with the Southbank Centre and the European Commission Representation in the UK. Julie Nioche to represent France.
www.southbankcentre.co.uk/festivals-series/danceunion 		Dancedance union
© Eric Garault
24 Sept'Etudiant d'aujourd'hui: un parcours européen' – debate preceded by a screening of L'auberge espagnole (Pot Luck, dir. Cédric Klapish), French Department, University of Manchester.
www.llc.manchester.ac.uk/subjects/french/		Screening + Debate
 
29 - 30 Sept 'The Legacy of '68' – two-day conference led by Hervé Hamon.
• Monday 29 Sept: 'From Passion to History' round table with Michel Winock, Henri Weber, Marie-Noëlle Thibaut and Michel-Antoine Burnier.
• Tuesday 30 Sept: The Traces of 68', round table with Françoise Picq, Virginie Linhart, Albert du Roy and Hervé Hamon. Institut français du Royaume-Uni, London.
www.institut-francais.org.uk		Conference
may 68
OCTOBER
2 Oct - 11 Jan'Le Corbusier: The Art of Architecture', Crypt of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, Liverpool.
www.liverpoolmetrocathedral.org.uk/liverpoolmet2008		 Architecture le corbusier
3 OctApproaches to web archiving in France and Britain. In partnership with the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and the British Library.Conference
  
3 Oct Bilingual teaching at secondary schools. Organised jointly by the French Embassy in the UK and the independent school Whitgift. With members of the 'Plan Ecole' and different ministries and agencies.Conference
  
10 Oct'L'Europe, un livre, un décor'. Part of the annual French reading festival 'Lire en fête'. Alliance française, Manchester.
www.alliancefrancaisemanchester.org		Visual Arts 
11 - 19 OctFestival 'Dance Umbrella' – annual contemporary dance festival, London. From France: Company Beau Geste, Christian Rizzo.
www.danceumbrella.co.uk/ 		Dance compagnie beau geste
13 OctLaunch of 'Paris Calling', a Franco-British season of theatre arts with a performance at the National Theatre of in-i, the new production by Company Akram Khan featuring Juliette Binoche (patron of the season) and work by British artist Anish Kapoor. Theatre paris calling binoche
© Marianne Rosenstiehl
17 - 26 Oct
Nottdance08 – annual dance festival in Nottingham, curated by Dance4 in collaboration with French choreographer Alain Buffard.
www.dance4.co.uk/nottdance		Dance 

Oct - Nov		Series of seminars on art and politics in the Middle East, Maison française d'Oxford.
www.mfo.ac.uk		Seminars 
NOVEMBER
4 NovLes Arts Florissants (Rameau, 'Les Indes Galantes'), Barbican Centre.
www.barbican.org.uk		Music 
14 Nov'Publishing Literature in Europe' – day-long conference attended by directors of publishing houses in France, Germany and the UK. In partnership with the Goethe-Institut London. Conference  

20 - 27 Nov 		Documentary Film Month – 'Spécial Europe', Alliance française, Manchester. With competitions organised by the Goethe-Institut and the Instituto Cervantès, Manchester. Cinema  
Nov Bilingual teaching at primary schools, with case study Ecole bilange de Wix. Organised by the London Borough of Wandwsorth; attended by representatives from other London and Greater London boroughs, the Borough of Manchester, and schools signed up to the FLAM programme. Conference
  

Nov 		Documentary Film Month, with festival focus on 'Documentary and Art'. Organised at the Institut français du Royaume-Uni in collaboration with European cultural institutes in London, Royal College of Art London, Imperial College, Birkbeck College and the South London Gallery.Cinema  
Nov (TBC)INA (Institut National de l'Audiovisuel) presentation of a free-access on-line audiovisual archive on artists from 27 European countries. Hugues Nancy to present the film Couleurs d'Europe. Médiathèque of the Institut français du Royaume-Uni, London. Marks the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage.Conference
 INA
DECEMBER
10 Dec'Messiaen Centenary Concert' featuring Pierre Boulez, Pierre-Laurent Aimard and the Ensemble Intercontemporain, South Bank Centre.
www.southbankcentre.co.uk		Music messiaen
10 - 12 Dec Conference in honour of Malcolm Cook, Professor of French Studies (18th century) at the University of Exeter. Institut français du Royaume-Uni, London. HigherConference malcolm moore
13 Dec Les Talents Lyriques (Handel), Barbican Centre.
Music   
DecTranslation prize organised by the Institut français du Royaume-Uni, London awarded by a jury of professional translators and editors. Annie Saumont to present.Literature  

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