Linking three continents, the Mediterranean is marked by strong human, economic, political and historical ties. Following on from the Sommet des deux rives (2019) and the Forum des Mondes Méditerranéens (2022), and more broadly from the Barcelona Process and the initiatives launched by the Union for the Mediterranean, the Saison Méditerranée aims to strengthen a community of destiny between its different shores and to highlight the issues and challenges that France shares with the Mediterranean.

This Season aims to go beyond the cultural field to give voice to a plurality of voices on the contemporary Mediterranean: artists, intellectuals, entrepreneurs, innovators, with an emphasis on youth and civil society players. It will take place throughout France, and will engage in dialogue with Mediterranean partners.

Julie Kretzschmar is artistic director, curator and stage director. After a dual academic (international public law) and artistic (conservatoire d'art dramatique) education, she has devoted the last twenty years to supporting international contemporary creation, particularly the artistic scene on the southern shores of the Mediterranean, as well as that of its diasporas, within the Bancs Publics structure based at the Friche la Belle de Mai in Marseille. Her work constantly moves back and forth between the local and the international, first and foremost with the Arab world and the African continent, between geographies and contexts that constantly question issues linked to the representation of diversity and interculturality. For many years, she has also worked with artists whose artistic projects address contemporary social issues and narratives inherited from colonialism and cross-fertilization. Before joining the Institut français, Julie Kretzschmar directed the international multidisciplinary festival, les Rencontres à l'échelle, dedicated to artists from the Suds, a veritable platform for the professional identification of artistic scenes and international aesthetics from countries around the Mediterranean and the African continent.

Coordinating a Mediterranean Season is an ambition in line with my career path, a Season that will think about the Mediterranean from a multitude of singular realities and imaginaries: a Mediterranean or Mediterraneas? - Julie Kretzschmar

About the Seasons

Since their creation in 1985, more than sixty Saisons have brought France into dialogue with a hundred or so countries, introduced people to many cultures and forged lasting links between territories and peoples. From September to December 2024, Lithuania will be honored with over 200 events throughout France. 2025 will be the year of the reunion between Brazil and France, just twenty years after the first Brazilian Season in France "Brazil, Brésils".

About the Institut français

The Institut français is the public establishment responsible for implementing France's foreign cultural policy under the aegis of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture.

Its missions are to support and lead the French cooperation and cultural action network abroad; to support French creators and cultural and creative industries in their international development; to strengthen dialogue between cultures and societies; and finally to promote the French language and plurilingualism.

Its modes of action are:

1. expertise, consultancy, training and the provision of resources;
2. mobility programs, residencies and the structuring of French and foreign professional networks;
3. the organization of cultural highlights and debates on ideas;
4. the co-financing of projects.

The Institut français works all over the world. It pays particular attention to developing cultural entrepreneurship in Africa, strengthening cooperation between youth and civil societies in Europe, and cultural and creative industries in the Indo-Pacific.