France’s new consul general has touched down in Atlanta just in time to kick off the consulate’s signature annual event series with Georgia Tech.
Anne-Laure Desjonquères becomes the latest diplomat to preside over France-Atlanta, which for the last 13 years has celebrated collaborations between the locales in the areas of science, business, culture and humanitarian affairs.
Underpinning it all is a deep focus on innovation and partnership.
“Every edition of France-Atlanta highlights innovation and exchange. We’re very excited about this year’s program which brings together two major southern cities that have a lot in common, yet have so much to learn from one another: Marseille and Atlanta,” said Ms. Desjonquères in a news release.
The City Cité element of the two-month event series will use performances by artists from Marseille, which sits on France’s Mediterranean coast and has long been an entry point for immigrants from North and West Africa, to open up dialogue on pressing urban issues.
Among the performers is Moesha13, a DJ who is set to play Sunset Carnavale in Atlanta on Sept. 25. On Oct. 5, experts from each city will explore Atlanta and Marseille as southern capitals of hiphop. Other highlights include short films, debates on civic issues, talks on preservation and urban design and scientific forums on supply chains and artificial intelligence.
Many of the events are part of other city happenings like the Elevate Atlanta public art festival or ongoing initiatives backed by the consulate, like the Villa Albertine residencies. The consulate will also host two French companies as the latest participants in the government’s New Technology Venture Accelerator, or NETVA, for a week of meetings in Atlanta, which has been designated a La French Tech Hub. Some events are also part of the Atlanta Design Festival.
The cultural performance kicking off the series will take place Thursday, Sept. 15: Traces: A Speech to African Nations brings the writings of Feline Sarr to life with a monologue set to music, in French with English supertitles, to be followed by a panel discussion.
The series will culminate in the French-American Chamber of Commerce’s Crystal Peach Awards gala on Nov. 3.
View the press release and full program below, and find event listings at https://france-atlanta.org/atlanta-events.
Press Release for France-Atlanta 2022 - Final version
Atlanta Ballet is the presenting sponsor of Global Atlanta's Culture Channel. Subscribe here for monthly Culture newsletters.
