Editorial

 

"The artist is constantly making connections, just like a child. It is about establishing relationships between worlds, and creating free associations that make sense."

Excerpt from the interview with Yto Barrada

 

The 2023 edition continues along the path it has been mapping out for more than 50 years, that of a responsible, accountable festival in perpetual motion. A festival which is passionate about the issues these works raise in our society, as well as the way they call upon our imagination and open up new trajectories for each of us.

 

The Autumn it has in store for us in which we can share countless discoveries and sources of pleasure, spread out across 72 partner venues in and around Paris. Each of the different disciplines, theatre, dance, music, visual arts and cinema is presented with its specific characteristics, temporality, and personalities, in spaces that complement it. All of this, however, takes place under the same banner, that of the strength of the links that exist between us. It gives rise to a constructive, unrelenting dialogue between forms, generations of artists, countries, languages and people.

Today, the Festival d'Automne affirms these founding values of openness and sharing through initiatives drawn up by the artists in order to reach out to different audiences. It is not only vital that the different works themselves be accessible to the widest possible audiences, but also their transmission and different practices. This forms the basis for the alliances we have set in motion alliances between culture and education, the health sector, schools and universities and social programs. A good example comes in the form of the Artistic and Cultural Education programs, combining shows, meetings, exhibitions, artistic practice and transmission, that are led by the Festival team. More than 2,000 young people benefit from these schemes within the Paris region.

This desire to continue the journey does not, however, preclude returning to former sources of affection, and in particular, to countries with which we have always enjoyed rich exchanges, such as the United States. This is the case in relation to the program inspired by major American artists, such as the outstanding choreographers of post-modern dance Lucinda Childs and Trisha Brown, but also the composer Philip Glass, with his piece Einstein on the Beach, directed by Susanne Kennedy, who will be previewing her work for the first time in Paris.

Our link with the United States continues with the Trajal Harrell Portrait. This unique trajectory of the artist's work takes us on a journey from Butoh to the New York voguing scene, museums and theatres.

Finally, our focus once again returns to the United States with a multi-disciplinary program that extends to the visual arts, in the form of Yto Barrada’s double exhibition. A resident of New York, the Franco-Moroccan photographer is the artist behind this program’s cover design.

 

The Festival d'Automne once again welcomes artists that continue to play a part in its history, such as the Portrait dedicated to Pierre-Yves Macé. This composer, whose music distinguishes itself by the diversity of its writing, from concertante forms to scores for dramatic and choreographic works, has been working alongside the Festival for over 10 years.

This Autumn invites audiences to share in numerous Temps forts or highlights. In September, the opening program is composed of three immersive works and then, in November, the carte blanche given over to director Alice Diop at the CENTQUATRE will launch the second episode in the Autumn season.

It goes without saying that continuity does not prevent the invention of new entries in the Festival program. The Focus constitutes a multiple-faceted invitation, combining new pieces and major ones, and which provides us with an up-to-date snapshot of the artist’s work. This year, the spotlight is on Susanne Kennedy and Nadia Beugré. The Repertoire, an initiative designed in order to promote the distribution and sustainability of shows, consists of twelve projects, thereby strengthening cooperation between cultural venues in and around Paris. This is the same conviction that is behind the Festival’s will to develop its role as organizer of European tours for international artists, combining ecological efficiency and economic soundness.

 

The major foundations of the actions and transformation of the Festival are those of a sense of openness to the world, dialogue between cultures, and the widening of its focus to different territories. It is this which enables the alchemy between the eighty-two projects featured in this edition. Spanning five continents, more than twenty countries and a rich cartography of stories, forms and people, the Festival seeks to map out an ever more complex and free-ranging geography.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Festival team for their unwavering commitment, with a special mention for Joséphine Markovits and her exceptional work over the years, and to express my joy at the arrival of Francesca Corona in our team.

I would also like to thank the public partners, the Ministry of Culture, Ville de Paris, and the Île-de-France region, as well as the Amis du Festival d'Automne à Paris for their invaluable support. Without this, it would be impossible to accompany the various transitions and developments in full confidence.

I would also like to thank all the partner venues. Working side-by-side with them enables us to make our commitments real.

Finally, my thanks goes to each spectator for their loyalty and for daring, year in year out, audacity and the unexpected.

In this 2023 edition, is our great pleasure to invite you to continue, together, this quest for beauty, new encounters and meaning, such is the Autumn spirit.

 

Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota

Director General