On April 15, 2025, Bénédicte Savoy looked at the emptiness that art and cult objects leave in their place of origin when, in the course of history, through armed conflict, colonial occupation or economic asymmetries, they have been moved to be displayed in (mostly Western) museums - with all the political, economic and epistemological implications that this entails.
Thursday April 3, 2025
In Praise of the Universal
Keynote Lecture by Souleymane Bachir Diagne with opening remarks by Bruno Bosteels and Emmanuelle Saada. Followed by a reception
On April 3-April 5, 2025, we celebrated the academic career of Professor Souleymane Bachir Diagne on the occasion of his retirement from Departments of French and Philosophy at Columbia University.
Co-presented with the World Monuments Fund and Cathedral of St. John the Divine, this event shared insights from what has become the largest preservation project of the century and consider how sacred and historic sites around the world can learn from each other about preventing and rebuilding after a fire.
Centered around the experiences of three young female artists and directors, we presented 3 films which provide timely reflections on the personal and collective struggles for belonging and continuity in Palestine, Iraq, France, and Sudan.
February 14 – Bye Bye Tiberias (Bye bye Tibériade) Lina Soualem, 2023, 82 min.
March 6 – Sudan, Remember Us (Soudan, souviens-toi) Hind Meddeb, 2024, 76 min.
March 27 – From Abdul To Leila Leila Albayaty, 2024, 92 min.
Maryse Condé’s life and work were complex and layered; this two-day conference honored her legacies as an author, critic, scholar, and teacher by attending to some of the strands of thought opened up by her oeuvre.
Screening of GROOVE and discussion between choreographer Bintou Dembelé and Mame-Fatou Niang in French with English translation.
Carlo Ginzburg in conversation about his life’s work and the writing of history, with Emmanuelle Saada.
A conversation in French with Laurence Marie, Pascal Rambert, Audrey Bonnet, and Stanislas Nordey celebrating the publication of Les paradoxes du comédien by Laurence Marie.
US Premiere followed by a Q&A with Director Abdenour Zahzah, Madeleine Dobie, and Camille Robcis.
Souleymane Bachir Diagne
In conversation with Emmanuelle Saada, Mame Fatou-Niang and Thomas Dodman.
Universaliser: L’humanité par les voies d’humanité.
French Ambassador in the U.S. Philippe Étienne, serving as such since September 2019, is a former diplomatic advisor to French President Emmanuel Macron, gave a talk with students about Europe and the French-American relationship. Co-sponsored by Columbia Maison Française, European Institute, Department of French and Alliance Program.
Environmentalist and author Bill McKibben was among the first journalists to sound the alarm about the perils of climate change over 30 years ago. Marie Toussaint is a jurist and French member of the European Parliament in the Green Party and a founder of Notre affaire à tous.
They reflected together on the roles policymakers, activists, journalists, and artists need to play alongside scientists in mobilizing people to care and amplifying the call to action.
Co-sponsored by the Maison Française, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, SIPA, European Institute, Alliance Program, the Earth Institute, and School of the Arts for Columbia | Year of Water.
This screening is featured as part of the Films on the Green Festival organized by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the NYC Parks Department. Sponsorship is provided by BNP Paribas, Air France, TV5 Monde and Destination Midi-Pyrénées. The 2013 screening is Wild Reeds (Les roseaux sauvages) by André Téchiné, 1994.
September 10, 2013: Columbia Maison Française Centennial 1913-2013: Celebrating a Century of French Culture and Ideas at Columbia University in New York
Curated by Shanny Peer, and co-organized by the Maison Française and Rare Book & Manuscript Division of Columbia Libraries.
This exhibition celebrates the 100-year anniversary of the Columbia Maison Française, founded in 1913 and the first French academic and cultural center on an American campus.It presents a wonderful collection of unpublished photographs, documents, program materials, and AV archives. These are woven into a narrative celebrating the rich history of the Maison Française and the role it has played in exposing Americans to notable French thinkers and artists, disseminating French and Francophone culture and ideas in the U.S., and nurturing strong ties between Columbia University, France, and the Francophone world.
Photo credit: Michael Dames
On Thursday, November 7, 2013, Maison Française held a reception to celebrate its Centennial and 100 years of French-American academic and cultural exchange.
On this occasion, the inaugural Centennial Medal of the Columbia Maison Française was awarded to François Delattre, French Ambassador to the U.S.
Photo credit: Michael Dames
A parachute from the Vietnam War, transformed by Cambodian artist Leang Seckon into an emblem of reconciliation, is the centerpiece of a public peace gathering involving Vietnamese and Cambodian survivors of that war as well as U.S. veterans at Columbia University on May 1, 2013.
Photo credit: Juliette de Marcillac
Exhibition of artworks by Cambodian Artists, on display at the Maison Francaise April 10-May 4, 2013. This exhibit featured seventy works of visual arts made by the great contemporary artists Vann Nath and Séra (both survivors of the genocide), as well as works by emerging artists who were invited to create artworks evoking the genocide during three "memory workshops" held between 2008 and 2012. The opening reception featured a live perfomance painting by the Franco-Cambodian artist Séra.
Photo credit: Michael Dames
