Cultural Services
| New York
972 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10021 Telephone (212) 439-1400 Fax (212) 439-1455 Washington
|
Cultural Counselor
Kareen Rispal |
The Cultural Services of the French Embassy promote the best of French arts, literature, and education to cultural and academic institutions across the United States, with a strong focus on the contemporary.
The Cultural Services of the French Embassy are headquartered in the former Payne Whitney residence on Fifth Avenue in New York City and at the French Embassy in Washington, D.C., and have regional offices in Chicago, Boston, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
The work of the Cultural Services is variously advisory, conceptual, developmental, promotional and administrative. Under the direction of the French Ambassador to the United States, our mandate is to prompt and sustain a high-spirited cultural exchange between the most promising French and American artists, writers, thinkers, students, and educators, and to continually enhance the number and caliber of opportunities available to them.
Each year, we collaborate on more than 1,000 events throughout the United States.Without our presence, the innovative and dynamic partnerships that wedevelop, and which have significantly nurtured the arts scenes in both the United States and France, would not exist. The work of the Cultural Services is variously advisory, conceptual, developmental, promotional and administrative. The Cultural Services regularly conceive, organize, and support large-scale initiatives to draw attention to exciting developments in French culture. The titles of these festivals reflect the dynamism of our work: France Moves (2001),Sounds French (2003), Playing French (2004), Act French (2005), Lyon via Houston (2005), French Kissin’ in the USA (2007-2008), Cultures Urbaines (2008), and French Fiction (2008).
Many programs and initiatives are offered by the Cultural Services’ Departments and Offices, which include: Visual and Performing Arts, Audiovisual Industries, Books, French Language, Universities and Higher Education, and Non-Governmental Relations. The Communications, Development and Press Offices support those initiatives. Each program is offered either directly by the Departments and Offices or in conjunction with our non-profit partner FACE (French American Cultural Exchange). The Cultural Services also coordinate the nominations and award ceremonies for French decorations conferred upon Americans and U.S. residents in recognition of their exceptional artistic and academic accomplishments.
