We Recommend
Cézanne at the Whitworth
Sat 24 Aug - Sun 1 Mar
The Witworth
This exhibition celebrates an extraordinary collection of drawings and prints by Paul Cézanne that has been gifted and placed on long-term loan to the Whitworth by gallerist, collector, author and publisher Karsten Schubert.
Visual Arts
French Politics: A Neighbour’s History of the Present
Thu 26 Sept - Tue 30 Jun
University of Westminster
This series of seminars is designed with the Foucauldian notion of “history of the present” in mind and will tackle some of the most pressing challenges of French politics and political theory today.
Talks
TV5MONDE
Mon 30 - Wed 30 Sept
For the love of culture, in French
Anyone in the UK can now enjoy TV5MONDE streamed live 24/7 in HD. From prime time films, hit drama series premieres, documentaries, travel, cuisine and kids programmes and news throughout the day, just click and watch for free.
Films & TV
Céline Condorelli – Spinning
Tue 1 Oct - Thu 31 Dec
Elmington Estate
Céline Condorelli has designed a playground for Elmington Estate, featuring carousels, climbing structures and coloured surfaces. This energising space to play is part of the SLG’s ongoing Open Plan of collaborations with neighbouring estates.
Visual Arts
L’Histoire des relations de l’Angleterre avec l’Europe
Wed 16 Oct - Mon 20 Apr
Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle
En menant l’inventaire des relations des Britanniques avec le continent Européen de l’Antiquité à nos jours, ce cycle de conférences assurées par d'éminents universitaires vous invite à mieux comprendre la période actuelle !
Talks
Artificialis
Sat 2 Nov - Sat 2 May
Saatchi Gallery
French artist Cyril de Commarque presents a multi-media installation drawing from the Anthropocene era – the period when man first had an impact on Earth’s geology and ecosystems – then meditating on the effect technology and scientific advancement will have on humankind and the environment.
Visual Arts
Charlotte Salomon: Life? or Theatre?
Fri 8 Nov - Sun 1 Mar
Jewish Museum London
Discover one of the most important and powerful achievements of the 20th century – the singular and complex artwork Life? or Theatre? –created in the early 1940's by German-Jewish artist, Charlotte Salomon, when she was hiding in the South of France.
Visual Arts
Dora Maar
Wed 20 Nov - Sun 15 Mar
Tate Modern
The largest retrospective of Dora Maar ever held in the UK. During the 1930s, Maar’s provocative photomontages became celebrated icons of surrealism. This exhibition will explore the breadth of Maar's long career in the context of work by her contemporaries.
Visual Arts
Cars Accelerating the Modern World
Sat 23 Nov - Sun 19 Apr
Victoria and Albert Museum
Over its short 130-year history, the car has become one of the most loved, contested and influential innovations in the world. It has revolutionised manufacturing, transformed how we move, forever changing our cities, environment and economies.
Visual Arts
La traviata
Tue 17 Dec - Mon 23 Mar
Royal Opera House
Richard Eyre's naturalistic production of Verdi's traviata contrasts the superficial glamour of 19th-century Parisian high life with intimate scenes for the main characters.
Classical Music
Christine Rebet Solo Exhibition
Tue 21 Jan - Sat 4 Apr
Parasol Unit, London
Parasol unit foundation for contemporary art presents a solo exhibition of the work of French artist Christine Rebet, exploring trauma, illusion, revolt and the destruction of our shared history and environment through six diverse, hand-drawn animated films.
Films & TV, Visual Arts
Picasso and Paper
Sat 25 Jan - Mon 13 Apr
Royal Academy of Arts
Pablo Picasso rewrote the rules of painting, but he also tore up the rulebook for paper. Bringing together 300 of the artist’s works, both on and with paper, this exhibition spans his entire prolific career and represents a significant chapter in modern art.
Visual Arts
Wandering Souls by Tobie Nathan
Wed 29 Jan - Sat 29 Feb
Polity Press
Translated by Muecke Stephen and published by Polity Press, "this deeply humane and engaging book will be of great interest to everyone concerned with the issue of radicalization and with the deep and growing challenges" our societies are facing.
Books
Amour: How the French Talk Love by Stefania Rouselle
Wed 5 Feb - Thu 12 Mar
Viking (Penguin RH)
A timeless, universal meditation on the meaning of love, based on the author's travels through France, accompanied by stunning full-colour photographs.
"Will restore your faith in the world" - New York Post
Books
The Girl who Reads in the Metro by Christine Feret-Fleury
Wed 12 Feb - Thu 19 Mar
Mantle, Pan Macmillan
When Juliette takes the métro to her loathed office job each morning, her only escape is in books – she avidly reads on her journey and imagines what her fellow commuters’ choices might say about them.
Books
Lessons on Rousseau by Louis Althusser
Wed 19 - Wed 26 Feb
Verso Books
Rediscover the leading Enlightenment philosopher through these Lessons on Rousseau, delivered by Louis Althusser at the École normale supérieure in Paris in 1972, now published by Verso Books and translated by G. M. Goshgarian.
Books
Christian Louboutin
Tue 25 Feb - Tue 28 Jul
Palais de la Porte Dorée
Thought as an invitation to dive into the prolific universe of Christian Louboutin, the exhibition explores all the aspects of his multiple referenced inspirations, in a place dear to the creator and which has seen his vocation grow.
Visual Arts
Politics and Literature by Jean-Paul Sartre
Wed 26 Feb - Wed 4 Mar
Calder Publications
Sartre's writings on literature explore the limitations of language as an exact vehicle for meaning, the author’s lack of ownership of his own words and the avenues that certain types of theatre such as Artaud’s open for non-verbal communication.
Books
Elizabeth de Portzamparc – Designing Digital Cities
Thu 27 Feb
Arnolfini-Bristol
The Architecture Centre presents: Designing Digital Cities, a talk with leading French-Brazilian architect Elizabeth de Portzamparc discussing the risks & rewards of integrating digital tech into our built environment.
Talks, Visual Arts
Des Gestes Blancs – as part of Encounters
Sat 29 Feb
Yorkshire Dance
A duo of a man and his son tries a physical approach to the notion of filiation. Together, they explore the figure of a father and that of a child. A dance where the image of one is a reflection of the other, distorted in time and space.
Performing Arts
Europeans: Dora Maar – The 100th Dash Café
Sat 29 Feb
Rich Mix
For Dash Arts’ 100th Café, we delve into the world of French photographer, painter and poet Dora Maar. An icon of Surrealism, Maar is best known for her photography and photomontages depicting post-war anxieties and the internal horrors of the mind.
Talks, Visual Arts
Workshop Father and Son
Sat 29 Feb
Yorkshire Dance
Lifting and carrying are both common gestures in ballet, but also are ordinary situations in a parent-child relationship. This workshop, inspired by Des Gestes Blancs, will playfully look at questions of connection between fathers and sons.
Performing Arts
Jean Féline and Joshua J. Leon: Habitat
Sun 1 Mar - Thu 30 Apr
Platform Southwark, London
Artists Joshua Leon and Jean Feline, tackle the subject and concept of Habitat, intending to investigate the social issues relating to the home in contemporary culture, treating the domestic as an unsafe ground and navigating the meaning of “making a home".
Visual Arts
Camille Yvert: How I Naturally Improve
Sun 1 Mar - Thu 30 Apr
Gibberd Gallery
New and developing work by Camille Yvert taking its starting point from the relationship between bronzage culture & bronze sculpture and examining the quest for body optimisation and the motorcycle industry will be presented at the Harlow Art Trust.
Visual Arts
Anne Gillis & XT Duo: a new collaborative work
Sun 1 Mar - Sun 31 May
Café Oto, London
Bringing together three explicitly ‘radical’ artists of different generations in a unique Anglo-French collaboration featuring Anne Gillis and composers XT, the show operates at the boundaries of sound-making/music, visual arts and performance.
Contemporary Music, Performing Arts, Visual Arts
The Oboist Entertains: Leleux Interprets Mozart
Mon 2 Mar
Southbank Centre
Oboist extraordinaire, François Leleux explores Austria, Poland and Italy with three pieces by three great composers (including Mozart) with the English Chamber Orchestra.
Classical Music
Lise Berthaud & David Saudubray
Mon 2 Mar
Wigmore Hall
With her pianist partner David Saudubray, widely admired French viola player Lise Berthaud will perform two major pieces by Schubert and Brahms, originally written for other instruments.
Classical Music
Festival de la Francophonie
Mon 2 - Tue 31 Mar
Various venues in Oxford
Celebrating French Language in all its cultural diversity, the Alliance française d'Oxford is presenting its first Festival de la Francophonie. Film screenings, a photo exhibition, talks and Q&As, an African music workshop for children are on the menu.
Talks
Closed Lands at VAULT Festival 2020
Tue 3 - Sun 8 Mar
The Vaults
A unique fusion of poetry, satire, reportage, multimedia and traveller’s diary, Closed Lands traces the history of modern walls - real and metaphorical, by award-winning playwright Simon Grangeat and performed by an all female international cast.
Performing Arts
Gad Elmaleh
Tue 3 - Sat 7 Mar
Leicester Square Theatre
French-Canadian stand-up comedian and actor Gad Elmaleh (Priceless, Huge in France) takes over Leicester Square Theatre in London for six nights! Prepare for some delightful impro in French!
Performing Arts, Talks
Eva Jospin: Among the Trees
Wed 4 Mar - Sun 17 May
Hayward Gallery - Southbank Centre
Among the Trees brings together artworks, including Eva Jospin’s Forests, that explore our relationship to trees. The exhibition focuses on artworks that re-imagine traditional genres and develop trees representations to shift our conventional perceptions.
Visual Arts
Brexit, Identity and Party Polarization
Wed 4 Mar
Maison Française d’Oxford
Geoff Evans (Nuffield College) & Tim Vlandas (ESC, St. Antony’s College) examine the threat posed by rising populism to mainstream parties in Europe and the various responses that they might have to offer in the run-up to Brexit and in its aftermath.
Talks
Older Brother by Mahir Guven
Wed 4 - Wed 11 Mar
Europa Editions
In this incisive first novel, Mahir Guven alternates between lively humour and the gravity imposed by the threat of terrorism. He explores a world of Uberized workers, weighed down by loneliness, struggling to survive.
Books
Stéphane Degout & Simon Lepper
Sun 8 Mar
Wigmore Hall
One of the world’s leading baritones Stéphane Degout returns to Wigmore Hall with pianist Simon Lepper, taking part to the song recital series.
Classical Music
Pierre-Laurent Aimard: Beethoven & Ives
Tue 10 Mar
Southbank Centre
Beethoven was a humanist and musical revolutionary, Charles Ives became known as a radical modernist of his day. Pierre-Laurent Aimard gives voice to the two great composers, revealing Beethoven’s influence on the avant-garde.
Classical Music
Modern Art and the French Riviera
Sat 14 - Sun 15 Mar
Royal Academy of Arts
This weekend-long art history course by the leading authority on French modernism, Dr Nicholas Watkins, explores the many modern artists who lived and worked along the French coast in the first half of the twentieth century.
Visual Arts
Harpsichord en fête
Fri 20 - Fri 27 Mar
Institut français d'Ecosse & St Cecilia's Hall, Edinburgh
For its Harpsichord en fête festival's 2nd edition, the Institut français d'Ecosse invited the artists to select and perform on historical harpsichords from St Cecilia's Hall. The festival will also celebrate historical dances with a Baroque ball.
Classical Music
Anna Zoria’s Residency at Maison Touchard
Sat 21 Mar - Sat 25 Apr
Maison Touchard, London
Maison Touchard presents Anna Zoria’s first exhibition in the United Kingdom. Building on themes of interiority and infra-ordinary, it collapses the site of production & exhibition into one porous setting responding to the domestic context of Maison Touchard.
Visual Arts
Bon Entendeur
Thu 26 Mar
Electric Brixton
From playlist creators and mixtape curators, it didn't take long for French group Bon Entendeur to take their tastefully made selections to the decks. They use the sounds of the 60s and 70s to channel French culture and the personalities that embody it.
Contemporary Music
UCL Culture Late – Revolutionary Encounters
Thu 26 Mar
UCL Art Museum
This immersive experience will explore the power of print culture during the French Revolution, drawing on personal witness testimonies through performance, film screenings, dance and discussions to examine how iconographic images shape our view.
Talks
Lise de la Salle: Liszt, Debussy & Beethoven
Tue 31 Mar
Southbank Centre
Lise de la Salle returns to the Wigmore Hall on the occasion of the International Piano Series, which present the most prestigious pianists on the concert platform and showcases the grand masters alongside the best of a current generation of rising stars.
Classical Music
Le SuperHomard
Tue 31 Mar
The Victoria
A dream mélange of Air, The Cardigans, Stereolab, 60s baroque pop, synth pop and Northern Soul, Le SuperHomard have gained support from BBC6 Music and the Modfather Paul Weller. Following debut album 'Meadow Lane Park', they're back in support of a new single.
Contemporary Music
The Swap Project : Elodie Merland and Bachir Boussandel
Wed 1 Apr - Tue 30 Jun
River Garage, Kent
River Garage invites in a three-week residency French artists Elodie Merland and Bachir Boussandel, living in Northern France and whose work is linked to notions of borders, languages and spaces through sculpture, performance, installation and photography.
Performing Arts, Visual Arts
Yael Naïm
Wed 1 Apr
Hoxton Hall
Yael Naïm is a singer-songwriter from Paris. She recorded her first, self-titled album on rudimentary equipment in her Bastille apartment, and watched single New Soul become an unlikely worldwide hit. She'll be promoting a new album focused on piano and voice.
Contemporary Music
European Poetry Festival 2020
Fri 3 - Mon 13 Apr
European Poetry Festival
The European Poetry Festival celebrates the grand resurgence in avant-garde and literary poetry that has marked the 21st century in Europe. With 11 events in 5 cities and towns across the UK and Ireland, this third edition will be the most ambitious yet.
Books, Talks
Cédric Hanriot – CH3 Trio
Wed 8 Apr
Pizza Express Jazz Club Soho
Cédric Hanriot's music is open to the cross-currents of jazz, hip hop and electronica. The group playfully explores themes taken from the pop of Katy Perry, the rock of Nirvana, and the electronic music of Massive Attack as well as Hanriot's own compositions.
Contemporary Music
Le Concert d’Astrée
Tue 14 Apr
Wigmore Hall
Under Emmanuelle Haïm’s direction, Baroque specialist group Le Concert d'Astrée brings a rich selection of pieces from the 16th and 17th Centuries to the Wigmore Hall.
Classical Music
Fakear
Fri 17 Apr
Canvas
Fakear has carved out a special place for himself on the French and international electro scene with a strong sound identity, combining British post dubstep elegance with oriental nuances. A subtle blend of textures that makes sense on stage.
Contemporary Music
Romeo Elvis
Fri 17 Apr
Electric Brixton
Roméo Elvis has become a key figure on the French hip-hop scene and one of the most streamed Belgian artists. Going Platinum in France and Belgium, his Morale and Morale 2 projects have catapulted the young rapper on to the biggest stages and festivals.
Contemporary Music
Mezerg
Fri 17 Apr - Tue 17 Mar
Jazz Café
Mezerg is the viral piano sensation and creator of PianoBoomBoom, a heady mix of piano skills and dancefloor beats. Hands and feet linked to his instrument, he merges the electronic with the acoustic to creates an organic new sound.
Contemporary Music