A celebration of all things French, Croisements Festival returns this
year
with another brilliant line-up showcasing the best of French art and
culture.
This year’s theme is centred around globalisation and cultural
diversity,
promoting a series of Sino-Francophone artistic encounters and
collaborations. With events taking place all across Beijing until July,
here's just a few of our highlights; visit
faguowenhua.com for more
information and the full programme.
Your footsteps are the road, for there is no road
Artwork: A chaque stencil une révolution (2010) by Latifa Echakhch
The
Marcel Duchamp Prize has shone a spotlight on more than 70
distinguished artists
since its inception in 2000. Aiming to present the best of French art,
'Your footsteps are the road, for there is no road' features 14 previous
winners and nominees of the Marcel
Duchamp Prize. Inspired by a quote from Spanish
poet Antonio Machado, 'Traveller, there is no path', each work offers a
new pathway for discovery. Featured artists include Yto
Barrada, Ulla von Brandenburg, Clément Cogitore and more.
The Three-Body Problem II: The Dark Forest
Directed by French director
Philippe Decouflé, this multimedia
performance is an adaptation of Liu Cixin's groundbreaking, Hugo
Award-winning sci-fi trilogy The Three-Body Problem. As Earth comes
under threat from predators across the universe, a small
band of humans, who make up the Wallfacer Project, must save the
planet. Chinese language with English subtitles.
Sixteen years after its
creation, mime extravaganza Plan B finally comes to China. Praised
for its inventiveness, Plan B features a poetic combination of
juggling,
acrobatics and choreography as performers balance and mime on devilishly
inclined planes. With its innovative, gravity-defying staging, you’ll
never look at an inclined plane the same way again.
Comic and Graphic Art Festival
Artwork: The Stranger: The Graphic Novel (2014) by Albert Camus and Jacques Ferrandez
After
making its highly successful debut back in 2016, the Comic and Graphic
Art Festival returns for a bumper fourth edition, as a line-up of ten
Francophone
and Chinese author-illustrators come together for a series of
discussions, exhibitions, improvised drawing duels and interactive
workshops.
It’s all about presenting the medium
as a fully fledged adult pastime, with themes ranging from the (re)discovery of the novels
of Albert Camus with Jacques Ferrandez, the art of Pablo Picasso with
Gisèle de Haan, the daily life of a PhD student illustrated by
Tiphaine Rivière, or those of people living in Beirut, presented in
black and white by Zeina Abirached.
Claire Levacher conducts the Beijing Symphony Orchestra
In
honour of the 150th anniversary of Hector Berlioz’s death, acclaimed
conductor Claire Levacher leads the Beijing Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in
tribute to the romantic genius of the late French
composer. Join Levacher, the BSO and guest violinist Zhang Jingye as
they perform a programme of Berlioz and Bizet's greatest works.
Fête de la Musique
Fête
de la Musique is an annual festival of live music that's celebrated in
over one hundred countries around the world, as part of World Music
Day. Launched in France in 1982, it's now been in Beijing since
2012. Taking place in live houses across Beijing (for free!), this
year's line-up features MNNQNS (pictured), KIZ, Lewis OfMan, Oré and more. Check our site closer
to the date for the full line-up.
Various locations. Jun 15-21. Free.
Picasso – Birth of a Genius
Artwork: Studies (1920) by Pablo Picasso © Succession Picasso 2019
Arriving
this June, 'Picasso – Birth of a Genius' is the most significant
exhibition of work
by Pablo Picasso ever to take place in China. Offering a comprehensive
overview of the first three
decades of Picasso’s career, the exhibition includes 103 works drawn
entirely from the
collection of the Musée national Picasso-Paris, tracing Picasso’s
development from childhood to middle age and promising an indepth
insight into the life of one of the most influential artists in the
history of modern art.
