The Mediterranean connects three continents and is shaped by strong human, economic, political, and historical ties. Building on the Summit of the Two Shores (2019), the Forum of Mediterranean Worlds (2022), and more broadly, the Barcelona Process and initiatives launched by the Union for the Mediterranean, the Mediterranean Season aims to strengthen a shared sense of destiny between its shores while highlighting the challenges and issues France shares with the region.

This Season aspires to go beyond the cultural sphere, amplifying a diversity of voices on contemporary Mediterranean realities: artists, intellectuals, entrepreneurs, and innovators, with a particular focus on youth and civil society actors. It will unfold across France and engage in dialogue with Mediterranean partners.

Julie Kretzschmar is an artistic director, curator, and stage director. After pursuing a dual academic path in public international law and dramatic arts (conservatory training), she has spent the past two decades supporting contemporary international creation, with a particular focus on the artistic scenes of the southern Mediterranean shores and its diasporas. She leads the Bancs Publics organization, based at Friche la Belle de Mai in Marseille, fostering connections between local and international contexts, especially with the Arab world and the African continent. Her work constantly questions diversity and intercultural representation.

For years, she has supported artists whose projects tackle contemporary societal issues, colonial legacies, and hybrid narratives. Before joining the Institut français, Julie Kretzschmar directed the international multidisciplinary festival Rencontres à l'échelle, a platform showcasing artists from the Global South, particularly the Mediterranean and Africa.

"Coordinating a Mediterranean Season aligns with my journey—a Season that will envision the Mediterranean through a multitude of singular realities and imaginaries: one Mediterranean, or many Mediterraneans?" - Julie Kretzschmar

About the Seasons 

Since their creation in 1985, over sixty Seasons have fostered dialogue between France and more than one hundred countries, unveiling diverse cultures and building lasting connections between territories and people. From September to December 2024, Lithuania is in the spotlight with over 200 events across France. In 2025, Brazil and France will reunite, twenty years after the first Brazilian Season in France, "Brésil, Brésils."

About the Institut français 

The Institut français is the public institution responsible for implementing France's cultural diplomacy under the supervision of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture.

Its missions include:

• Supporting and coordinating the French cultural cooperation network abroad;
• Assisting French creators and creative industries in their international development;
• Strengthening dialogue between cultures and societies;
• Promoting the French language and multilingualism.

Its key actions involve:

• Providing expertise, advice, training, and resources;
• Facilitating mobility programmes, residencies, and professional network structuring;
• Organizing cultural highlights and intellectual debates;
• Co-financing projects.

The Institut français operates worldwide, with a particular focus on developing cultural entrepreneurship in Africa, strengthening cooperation between youth and civil society in Europe, and supporting creative industries in the Indo-Pacific.