The hub for france-american exchange

The Cultural Services of the French Embassy are headquartered in the former Payne Whitney residence on Fifth Avenue in New York City and at the French Embassy in Washington, D.C., and have regional offices in Chicago, Boston, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The work of the Cultural Services is variously advisory, conceptual, developmental, promotional and administrative. Under the direction of the French Ambassador to the United States, our mandate is to prompt and sustain a high-spirited cultural exchange between the most promising French and American artists, writers, thinkers, students, and educators, and to continually enhance the number and caliber of opportunities available to them. The Cultural Services regularly conceives, organizes, and supports large-scale initiatives to draw attention to exciting developments in French culture. In recent years, these initiatives have included in New York: France Moves, a contemporary dance festival (2001); Sounds French, a contemporary music festival (2003); Act French, a season of new French theater (2005); and regionally, Playing French focused on contemporary playwrights in Chicago (2004); Lyon via Houston (2005), and a jazz festival French Quarter (2007).The Cultural Services is always interested in new and challenging ideas that will bring French and American people together in creative collaboration. Our programs are offered either directly by the Departments and Offices or in conjunction with our non-profit partner FACE (French American Cultural Exchange). The Cultural Services also coordinates nominations and award ceremonies for French official distinctions given to Americans and U.S. residents in recognition of exceptional artistic and academic accomplishments.