French art festival on the boards

Ishara Jayawardane

One of the biggest events of the year is about to blossom in Sri Lanka, and that is the French Cultural Festival called the ‘French Spring’. The Embassy of France and the Alliance Francaise de Kotte, together with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Cultural and Art Affairs and the BMICH are pleased to present the very first French Spring in Sri Lanka, a multidisciplinary ten day festival opened to the public on a free admission basis, which will be held from June 15 to 24 in Colombo.

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Some events will also be presented in Jaffna, Kandy and Galle. The festival will present 11 events in various artistic fields such as world music, photography, cinema, rock music, classical music, architecture, literature, dance, street art and gastronomy.

“This is something new and different than what we have done in the past. We do it because it has been kindly requested from us by Sri Lankan friends, members of the government, Members of the Parliament, members of the Sri Lanka- France Friendship Association, activists from civil society, and artistes. Because after decades of war and suffering the people of Sri Lanka deserve peace dividends. And culture and arts are part of those peace dividends. It can also contribute to heal the wounds of the conflict and rebuild a nation,” said French Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Christine Robichon.

Robichon also asserted that she believes that art can bring communities, people and nations closer to each other.

“In this spirit I ask my colleagues who organized the festival to take the opportunity provided by the French artistes to multiply the conduct between them and Sri Lankan artistes belonging to different communities.”

Stating that the French Festival will be the ideal opportunity for the French artistes to discover the rich heritage of multiethnic Sri Lankan culture, Robichon also said in order to contribute to the economic development of Sri Lanka the organizers have decided to include a symposium dedicated to sustainable architecture and more precisely to energy efficiency in the construction sector. The French Spring Festivals are organized annually over 20 years in Asia with the aim of strengthening the cultural cooperation between local and French artists, sharing the same stage and working on common cultural projects.

The concept of this festival has been created with the idea of providing the local audience with the opportunity to share a high quality contemporary artistic experience. The Embassy of France in Sri Lanka believes that arts and culture form a great opportunity to improve exchanges between different cultures.

Organizing cultural events free of charge is meant to welcome a large audience from all communities who will share same emotions side by side in appreciation of each others culture.