Sayon Bamba in concert
May 4, 2012, 8pm, at the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles
U.S. premiere! Singer, songwriter, and dancer Sayon Bamba—former lead singer of renowned Guinean band Les Amazones de Guinée—brings her singular voice and exuberant Afro beat music to the Skirball. A hit at world music festivals across France, her music blends traditional Manding music with French lyrics and other diverse influences.
Fifth Annual Jeunes Talents Photography Program
Shifting Perspectives
September 21 through October 4, 2011 at the French Cultural Center in New York
November 17 through December 2, 2011 at Gallery 825 in Los Angeles
A cultural tourism initiative that supports emerging U.S. photographers, Jeunes Talents combines tourism and the arts, photography and real-life experience, travel, inspiration and American and French sensibilities to illustrate life in France today. The eight young photographers, all from leading U.S. art schools, are mentored and their work is curated by eminent photography curator Tim B. Wride.
Schools include Art Center College of Design, California Institute of the Arts, Otis College of Art and Design and Parsons The New School for Design. Destinations visited in 2011 are Metz, Toulouse, Rouen in France, and the island of Martinique, a French overseas region located in the Caribbean.
The project culminates in a group show at the French Cultural Center in New York September 21 through October 4 and at Gallery 825 in Los Angeles November 17 through December 2, 2011. Gallery 825 is operated by the Los Angeles Art Association and provides opportunities and resources for Los Angeles artists with an emphasis on emerging talent.
Images from the program will be used in an innovative advertising campaign by ATOUT FRANCE, the French Tourism Development Agency, highlighting the destinations visited by the students.
Jeunes Talents is a cultural project of ATOUT FRANCE, the French Tourism Development Agency; the French Cultural Services in Los Angeles and New York and FLAX France Los Angeles Exchange. Other partners include the tourist offices of Martinique, Metz, Rouen and Toulouse and Rail Europe.
For further information, please visit www.jeunes-talents.com.
Read more:
PDNEDU - Project X: The Gallic Connection
Oohla L.A! The French Music Festival in California 3rd Edition
September 29 to October 1, 2011 / El Rey Theater, 5515 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles
September 29th
Nouvelle Vague
A Dawn of Innocence - A musical directed by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac
Hugh Coltman
September 30th
Tinariwen + Special Guests !
Hindi Zahra
October 1st
Etienne de Crécy
DJ Cam (Inflamable/K7)
Feadz (Ed Banger)
Chateau Marmont
Artist in Residence: Cyprien Gaillard
Fall 2011 at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles
French artist Cyprien Gaillard will take part in the Hammer’s Artist Residency Program sponsored in part by FLAX. Gaillard will be given the opportunity to dictate the content, format and direction of his residency. This freedom has been prized by artists, enabling them to realize complex or experimental work.
The Hammer’s Artist Residency Program has been instrumental in helping artists from around the world gain greater exposure in Los Angeles and throughout the United States. The program gives artists access to the Museum and Los Angeles’s unique resources—a dynamic environment, vibrant art scene, world-class research university and diverse metropolis.
Gaillard’s work spans a variety of media and includes performance and large-scale interventions in public space. Born in 1980 in Paris, recent exhibitions include the Tate Modern, London; Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong; the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York City, NY; Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume, Paris, and the Berlin Biennale für Zeitgenössische Kunst, Berlin.
For further information, please visit www.hammer.ucla.edu/residencies.
"Who’s that Guy?” a film by Marie de Brugerolle
The Getty Center in Los Angeles
December 10, 2011 at 7pm
December 11, 2011 at 3pm
A documentary researched and directed by French curator Marie de Brugerolle, "Who’s that Guy?” is a portrait of artist Guy de Cointet as seen by his friends Paul McCarthy, Mike Kelley, Michel Auder, Richard Jackson, John Baldessari, Larry Bell and Barbara Smith amongst others. They reminisce about his life, his work and the Los Angeles art scene in the 70s. The film is presented as part of Pacific Standard Time: Art in LA 1945-1980, a collaboration of more than 50 cultural institutions across Southern California.
- Release dates
- May 18, 2011 Centre Pompidou (MNAM) Paris
- May 25, 2011 South London Gallery, London
- June 12, 2011 Castello de Rivoli, Turin, Italy
- September 24, 2011 MK2 , Paris
- November 12, 2011 MUSAC, Leon, Spain
“Images for Human Rights: Student Voices”
A provocative exhibition illustrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with interpretations by students from Art Center College of Design, this 25 poster collection premiered in 2008 at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. It later went onto the Great Hall of the Pasadena Library and to the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles in 2010. “Images for Human Rights: Student Voices” has found a permanent home at the Holocaust Memorial Center, Zekelman Family Campus in Farmington Hills, Michigan, where children 4 years and older can create their own posters in the style of those in the exhibition.
Suprasensorial: Experiments in Light, Color and Space
February 22 - May 13, 2012 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C.
Following an acclaimed presentation in Los Angeles at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and curated by MOCA curator Alma Ruiz, Suprasensorial: Experiments in Light, Color and Space will move to the Hirshhorn in spring 2012.
Suprasensorial is the first exhibition to reevaluate the evolution of the international Light and Space movement through the work of five pivotal Latin American artists: Carlos Cruz Diez, Lucio Fontana, Julio Le Parc, Hélio Oiticica and Neville D'Almeida and Jesús Rafael Soto. Carlos Cruz-Diez, Julio Le Parc, and the late Jesús Rafael Soto have lived and worked in Paris since the 1950s. They were, and continue to be, influenced by their time there. Along with Lucio Fontana, Cruz-Diez and Soto were featured in the 1992 exhibition Latin American Artists of the Twentieth Century at the Centre George Pompidou, Paris, where their work is also represented in the permanent collection.
For further information, please visit www.hirshhorn.si.edu.
Since its creation in 2006, FLAX has achieved its goals of diversity of cultural events, close working relationships with Southern California and French cultural institutions and, of course, furthering the understanding of French culture.
Through public exhibitions, concerts and events, we have already reached many Southern Californians in their communities.
Following is a partial list of events that have been sponsored or developed by FLAX.
Louis Langrée and Lise de la Salle with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
February 26-27, 2011, at Glendale’s Alex Theatre and Royce Hall, UCLA
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra presents dynamic concerts led by prominent French conductor Louis Langrée and featuring rising star Lise de la Salle on piano. Though they hail from the same nation, Langrée and de la Salle will collaborate for the first time, under the Chamber Orchestra’s auspices in Los Angeles. The 21-year-old de la Salle has emerged as one of the most acclaimed artists of her generation. She makes her LACO debut in Saint-Saëns’ Second Piano Concerto, a show-stopping nod to Parisian cabaret music. Celebrated music director of New York’s Mostly Mozart Festival, Langrée also brings his refined sensibility, formidable technique and radiant personality to Ravel’s Pavane pour une infante défunte and the Symphony No. 2 of Beethoven.
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is an ensemble unique to its time and place. Founded as a purely artistic outlet for Hollywood’s most gifted commercial musicians, LACO’s conservatory-trained players balance studio work and teaching with creative collaboration at the highest level. In its 41-year history, the Orchestra has made 30 recordings and toured Europe, Japan and the Americas, presenting 35 performances a year across greater Los Angeles.
For further information, please visit www.laco.org.
Echoa
February 11, 2011 | Theatre Raymond Kabbaz | Los Angeles
French dance company Arcosm presents ECHOA created by Thomas Guerry, a noted dancer and choreographer, and Camille Rocailleux, a percussionist, pianist and composer. At the heart of their artistic approach are multiple combinations of music and dance constantly interrogating and influencing each other.
Highly praised by audiences all over the world, ECHOA reflects the company’s objective to build bridges between artistic disciplines and languages. Drums of all descriptions are cleverly organized on scaffolding so that seven distinctly different dance scenes can unfold below. The movement and rhythm become flawlessly intertwined as the artists explore the questions: How does a percussionist dance? How does the body of a dancer sound?
For further information, please visit www.theatreraymondkabbaz.com.
Suprasensorial: Experiments in Light, Color, and Space
December 12, 2010–February 27, 2011 / The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles / The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA
Suprasensorial: Experiments in Light, Color, and Space is the first museum exhibition to situate pioneering Latin American artists among the international canon of those working with light and space. This exhibition aims to illuminate the field by expanding the dialogue surrounding light and space practices in contemporary visual art beyond the California tradition of the late 1960s and ’70s to include pivotal Latin American impulses expressed more than a decade earlier.
Organized by MOCA Curator Alma Ruiz, Suprasensorial: Experiments in Light, Color, and Space will position Latin America as the source of new ideas about the nature and function of art through the re-creation of important large-scale installations by five highly regarded and influential artists: Carlos Cruz-Diez, Venezuela (b. 1923); Lucio Fontana, Argentina (1899–1968); Julio Le Parc, Argentina (1928); Hélio Oiticica, Brazil (1937–1980), with Neville D'Almeida, Brazil (1941); and Jesús Rafael Soto, Venezuela (1923–2005).
MOCA is honored to include three artists in Suprasensorial—Carlos Cruz-Diez, Julio Le Parc, and the late Jesús Rafael Soto—who have lived and worked in Paris since the 1950s. They were, and continue to be, influenced by their time there. Along with Lucio Fontana, Cruz-Diez and Soto were featured in the 1992 exhibition Latin American Artists of the Twentieth Century at the Centre George Pompidou, Paris, where their work is also represented in the permanent collection.
Following its presentation at MOCA, Suprasensorial: Experiments in Light, Color, and Space will travel to the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C., where it will be on view from June 23 through September 11, 2011.
For further information, please visit www.moca.org
Céleste Boursier-Mougenot at GLOW
September 25, 2010, Santa Monica, California
Internationally renown French artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot is creating a new and unique artwork for Glow, a dusk-to-dawn art event on and near the beach in Santa Monica set for September 25, 2010.
Inspired by Paris’ Nuit Blanche, Glow will present 25 art projects that offer the audience an opportunity to engage and participate in the artworks, either directly or indirectly.
Boursier-Mougenot will locate his piece on the beach and through his deft use of advance technology he will link it to several other sites in Santa Monica.
Boursier-Mougenot is a composer and artist who now works primarily in large scale sculptural installations, often including sound. His work is a perfect synthesis of music and art, a perfect form for the 21st century. In 2010 alone, Boursier-Mougenot has shown in such important spaces at the Barbican in London, Le Maison Rouge in Paris and the Paula Cooper Gallery in New York.
Boursier-Mougenot’s participation in Glow is made possible through the support of the Flax Foundation and the French Cultural Services. For more information on Glow, please visit http://glowsantamonica.org/.
OohlaLA The French Music Festival in California
September 30th-October 2nd, Los Angeles / October 3rd, San Francisco
September 30th
El Rey Theater, Los Angeles
Record makers 10th Anniversary Celebration
Sébastien Tellier & friends
Acid Washed, Kavinsky (DJ), Turzi
October 1st
Spaceland, Silver Lake
The Bewitched Hands on Top of Their Heads
Revolver
October 2nd
Club Nokia, Los Angeles
Gotan Project
General Elektriks
El Hijo de la Cumbia
October 3rd
The Warfield, San Francisco
Gotan Project
General Elektriks
Jeunes Talents 2010
French Impressions: New Photographic Perspectives
on Aix-en-Provence, Arles, Lille, Marseille, Tahiti and Toulon
April 7- April 21, 2010, Louis Stern Fine Arts Gallery, Los Angeles
Eight art and photography students from five major U.S. art schools capture on film the essence of six distinct French destinations. The resulting images are featured in an international French tourism campaign and exhibited at art galleries in Los Angeles, New York and New Orleans. Eminent photography curator Tim B. Wride has mentored the students and their works, as well as curated the gallery exhibitions.
Visit www.franceguide.com/jeunestalents for more information.
A collaboration of FLAX and Atout France, Art Center College of Design, California Institute of the Arts, Otis College of Art and Design, Loyola University New Orleans, Parsons The New School for Design, Louis Stern Fine Arts and French Cultural Services.
Read more:
CalArts: Jeunes Talents 2010, French Impressions: New Photographic Perspectives
absolutearts.com: Jeunes Talents 2010, French Impressions: New Photographic Perspectives
Campus Circle: Jeunes Talents: Students Shoot For France
France-Amérique.com: Huit jeunes regards américains sur la France
ForYourArt™ | SEE
SAMARABALOUF! in Concert
Friday, April 16, at 7:30pm, Theatre Raymond Kabbaz, Los Angeles
Under the artistic directorship of François Petit, SAMARABALOUF! is a French string trio nurtured on the music by world famous gypsy jazz star Django Reinhardt. Stretching from the boogie-blues to flamenco rock and rockabilly, Saramabalouf mixes popular themes such as the waltz, tango and rumba, and offers an original and energetic performance.
Visit www.theatreraymondkabbaz.com for more information.
UCLA Live presents Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France With Anne Sofie von Otter
Presented in part by FLAX
All Ravel Program, Wednesday, March 10 at 8pm, UCLA’s Royce Hall
Music director Myung-Whun Chung will lead France’s internationally lauded orchestra for an evening of Maurice Ravel compositions including “”Daphne and Chloe”. Acclaimed mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter joins the stage for “Sheherazade”.
Visit www.uclalive.org for more information.
“Images for Human Rights: Student Voices”
October 17, 2009- March 7, 2010, Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California
- A series of 25 posters, showcasing personal interpretations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ s articles by students from the Art Center College of Pasadena. It first opened at the Unesco in Paris and then was on view at the Central Library in Pasadena.
- Related programming in workshops offered for ages 4 and above, participants will create posters in the style of Images for Human Rights.
“OohlaLA: The French Music Festival in California”
September 23-24-25 2009 - The Music Box at Henry Fonda Theater, 6126 Hollywood Bvld, Los Angeles, California.
The first-ever OohLaLA Festival will bridge California to France, as the French music showcase will transform L.A.’s Henry Fonda Theater into a Parisian nightclub, September 23-25.
“A Rainbow in the Sky”, an outdoor installation by Daniel Buren
August 8 – November 15, 2009, One Colorado Courtyard, Pasadena, California
Objective: Internationally celebrated artist Daniel Buren is creating a large-scale site-specific art work in the One Colorado Courtyard.
Continental Rifts: Contemporary Time-Based Works of Africa
February 22 - June 14, 2009, Fowler Museum at UCLA, Westwood, California
- Objective: feature the work of contemporary artists with deep connections to Africa
Jeunes Talents 3
March 26 - April 11, 2009, Louis Stern Fine Arts Gallery, Los Angeles
Objective: promote France’s regional diversity through the works of talented young photographers selected by American Art Schools.
“Showcase Trilogy” & “Papotages” performed by Etant Donnés Dance Company
March 26-27, 2009, Theatre Raymond Kabbaz, Los Angeles, California
Objective: introducing the innovative choreography of famous French Company Etant Donné, at Theatre Raymond Kabbaz known for its unusual selection of international artists.
“Images for Human Rights: Student Voices”
December 10, 2008 - January 4, 2009, Pasadena Public Library, City of Pasadena, California
- Objective: exhibit the posters created by Art Center College of Design and shown at the 2008 NGO’S annual conference at Unesco, Paris.
- Educational purpose in conjunction with Pasadena citywide celebration of International Human Rights Day.
- In collaboration with Art Center College of Design, French Cultural Services.
“Ça va nettement mieux” de et avec Charlotte de Turckheim.
October 3rd & 4th, 2008 – Theatre Raymond Kabbaz, Los Angeles
The only French-owned theater in Los Angele, Theatre Raymond Kabbaz offers a variety of international programs.
“Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: a public education exhibition” produced by Art Center College of Design
September 2-5, Salle des Pas Perdus, Unesco Paris, France
- Objective: Celebrate the Declaration of Human Rights and support the vision and creativity of young international students who express their point of view 60 years later.
- • Educational purpose
- • In collaboration with Art Center College of Design
MAKE MUSIC PASADENA
Fête de la Musique
June 21, 2008 – Downtown Pasadena
For the first time in 2008, the Alliance Française de Pasadena partnered with local institutions to celebrate the World Music Day which originated in France in 1982. Make Music Pasadena, a free music festival, took place on June 21st throughout the main streets of Pasadena.
Pioneers and Entrepreneurs
French Immigrants in the Making of L.A. 1827-1927
Pico House, Downtown Los Angeles
Until the Pioneers and Entrepreneurs exhibit, no thorough study had been completed on the presence of the French immigrants in Southern California. Their influence had been completely neglected by historians and thus forgotten.
TRANS-FORMATION video by Pascale Lafay
In conjunction with the historical exhibition Pioneers and Entrepreneurs, FLAX commissioned French photographer and video artist Pascale Lafay to create a video of Los Angeles today with its French legacy as a thematic backdrop.
Les Yeux Noirs
FLAX presented “Les Yeux Noirs in Concert” at the Skirball Cultural Center in October 2006 in partnership with the Alliance Française and the French Consulate.
Jeunes Talents
“Jeunes Talents” is a wonderful program that unites several of our passions: youth, the arts, Los Angeles, France and bringing people closer together across cultures.