France Soir : La culture francaise envahit New-York
Sylvain Chazot, Tuesday November 24th 2009
Anybody who has ever visited New York has heard of French Tuesdays, get-togethers for the well connected that have been taking place since 2003 in the Big Apple and later in other large American cities. They take place in a classy ambiance in the city that never sleeps. French enthusiasts’ gilded youth live it up around a few bottles of champagne.
Contrarily, Enrique Gonzalez from the Clermont region who has lived in New York for seven years refuses to follow this movement.
His French Culture Nights couldn’t be more different than French Tuesdays. “I am not criticizing their practice,” admits the creator of the guide Hot & Cool, a resource focused on the lesser known areas of New York. “It is simply not the way I wish to promote the French culture because the French culture is beautiful.” Taking place every third Tuesday of the month in a bar in New York, the FCN attracts the true Francophiles “in a laid back environment,” explains Enrique. Towards the end of October, the event took place at a bar in Chelsea. Decorating the walls were paintings of French artists and movie posters of French films. On the stage, Christine Capdeville sang while Nicole Renaud played the accordion.
Victims of the crisis.
Alliance Française’s yearly French Institute gala took place during the beginning of November with the same theme but a slightly different ambiance. The institution is no longer in a start up phase. Taking place at the renowned Plaza, the gala brought together a few quality French artists including Isabelle Huppert. The soirée was first and foremost a means for the FI :AF to bring in funding, also with the goal to help fund future events, in particular the now famous Crossing the Lines, a contemporary art festival bringing together French and American artists. “With this event, we wanted to get out of the French ghetto,” explains the director of FI:AF Marie-Monique Steckel. “We hope to establish bridges between the French and American cultures.” The festival, numerously applauded by the New York Times, has become a mainstay on the New York landscape. As we can see, America’s love for all that is French is not insignificant. One obstacle, however, is slowing down the growth potential; money. Enrique Gonzalez and Marie-Monique Steckel both acknowledge that the economic crisis has had negative repercussions for the art world. But the director of FI:AF repeats that their loyal patrons have stayed faithful regardless of the hardships. Why? “Because we knew how to develop an art avant-gardist.” A choice much appreciated by New Yorkers. And as they say: when we like something…
