his year marks the 10th anniversary of Festival Croisement in China. The French cultural festival opened with an exhibition called "Light" at Beijing's 798 Art Zone. (Photo/China.org.cn)
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Festival Croisement in China. The French cultural festival opened with an exhibition called "Light" at Beijing's 798 Art Zone.
If this is not Montmatre France, it surely feels like the Golden Era. The band Hard Club of Beijing kicks off the Festival Croisement in the company of dignitaries and artists from across the country.
These art installations about light come from around the world and have been assembled together into one exhibition. Because they were not commissioned, the organizer of the exhibition, Cheng Xindong, believes that it allows the artists to give visitors a personalized understanding of light. Through the lens of each of these artists, the ubiquitous becomes unique.
"I think this exhibition symbolizes a new start, a new hope. On this anniversary, we're looking back at these 10 years of the festival, but we're also looking forward into the future. The Festival Croisement is such a great platform for French and Chinese arts and culture. It goes without saying the future will be very bright," Cheng said.
This year, you can expect to experience the festival in more than 20 cities in China. Events will span 10 disciplines from visual arts, architecture and design, new media, classic and contemporary music, pop and jazz, dance to theater, new circus, films, literature and special children's programs.
"It'll be the longest festival forever, because it starts today, April 10, and it will be ending the July 10. So it'll be three months. So it'll be the longest festival. This is really new since the creation of the festival. What's new also is that we have a new topic, in architecture and design, which is really new. So far, we've never had this kind of program. We're going to have two architecture exhibitions, one in Shanghai, one in Shenzhen. And different programs of design, including food design, which is really new and really innovative," said Anthony Chaumuzeau, Cultural Minister, French Embassy.
