The Center is proud to host the show French Eyes on Boston, a collection of portraits and landscapes painted by Marguerite Wibaux, who moved to Boston from France in 2017.
Marguerite’s landscapes marry the Renaissance perspective tradition with an American expressionist approach. The paintings engage with the artist’s perceptions of various points of view in Boston. From a pictorial standpoint, the landscape series explores various mediums and techniques, mixing oil and spray paint with acrylic and collage.
But what is a city without its people? The second component of Marguerite’s work explores Boston’s youth through portraiture.
These paintings aim to pay tribute to a rich diversity of styles, personalities, genres, origins, and cultures in a visually thriving and energizing series.
The gallery opening will include a presentation of Marguerite’s work and a reception with light refreshments. Registration required.
Join the French Cultural Center for a series of cooking and wellness workshops for women.
Is living healthy at the top of your resolutions this year? Join physician and Certified Health and Wellness Coach Martine Vounatsos for a series of three cooking workshops. We will discuss ways to incorporate wellness into every aspect of a woman’s mental and physical health, from exercise and supplements to sleep habits and cooking methods.
Participants will craft and enjoy a traditional and healthy French meal with Martine in a convivial environment.
Each workshop will begin promptly at 11:10 AM. Aprons, ingredients, and will be kitchenware provided.
Please note, this event is intended for women only and in English.
About the Workshops
FRIDAY, JANUARY 11, 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM
Come learn about nutrients, water intake, and dietary habits, then enjoy preparing soupe de poireaux et pommes de terre avec une salade en vinaigrette (potato leek soup and salad with homemade vinaigrette).
FRIDAY, JANUARY 18, 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM
In this discussion, we will learn about sleeping better and exercising—how and when? For the cooking workshop, attendees will prepare velouté d’asperges et salade de carottes râpées (asparagus soup and homemade carrot salad).
FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM
For our last discussion, we will learn about vitamins, supplements, and meditation. For the cooking workshop, attendees will prepare soupe et crème de champignons et salade frisée au vinaigre balsamique (mushroom soup and frisée salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette).
Join the French Cultural Center for a series of cooking and wellness workshops for women.
Is living healthy at the top of your resolutions this year? Join physician and Certified Health and Wellness Coach Martine Vounatsos for a series of three cooking workshops. We will discuss ways to incorporate wellness into every aspect of a woman’s mental and physical health, from exercise and supplements to sleep habits and cooking methods.
Participants will craft and enjoy a traditional and healthy French meal with Martine in a convivial environment.
Each workshop will begin promptly at 11:10 AM. Aprons, ingredients, and will be kitchenware provided.
Please note, this event is intended for women only and in English.
About the Workshops
FRIDAY, JANUARY 11, 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM
Come learn about nutrients, water intake, and dietary habits, then enjoy preparing soupe de poireaux et pommes de terre avec une salade en vinaigrette (potato leek soup and salad with homemade vinaigrette).
FRIDAY, JANUARY 18, 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM
In this discussion, we will learn about sleeping better and exercising—how and when? For the cooking workshop, attendees will prepare velouté d’asperges et salade de carottes râpées (asparagus soup and homemade carrot salad).
FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM
For our last discussion, we will learn about vitamins, supplements, and meditation. For the cooking workshop, attendees will prepare soupe et crème de champignons et salade frisée au vinaigre balsamique (mushroom soup and frisée salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette).
As the French Cultural Center clears room for a new year of tastings, you have one last chance to taste some of their favorite bottles.
Over the past seven decades the French Cultural Center has had the opportunity to partner with an abundance of fine institutions, vintners, and wine collectors.
And now, it is time again to make room for a new year of tastings. Join them for this fun evening of fine wine, featuring a broad selection of vintners that we know and love. This exceptional tasting will feature six wines, from various domains, regions, and even countries!
This tasting will be led by Certified Sommelier Alexandre Sojfer, resident Sommelier at La Voile Boston.
The event will start no later than 7:10 PM.
ON THE MENU
L’Ameillaud – Vin de Pays de Vaucluse – 2012 – Vaucluse, France
Smoky black and blue fruit scents are complicated by suggestions of licorice and cracked pepper. Focused and chewy on the palate, offering bitter cherry and black currant flavors and a hint of cured meat.
Tinhorn Creek – Merlot – 2010 – South Okanaga, Canada
Established by the Shaunessy and Oldfield families on the South Okanagan’s legendary Golden Mile Bench in 1993, Tinhorn Creek is a very special winegrowing project, comprising 150 acres of spectacular vineyards in two distinct areas, one on either side of the valley.
Domaine Isle Saint Pierre – Cabernet – 2010 – France
Isle Saint-Pierre is a small island in the middle of the Rhone River, just 25km south of Arles and 15km from the sea. The vineyards, planted at the very heart of the Camargue region, stretch over 170 hectares around the island.
Jackson Triggs – Sauvignon Blanc – 2013 – Niagara Estate, Canada
Pale straw colour with a lively nose of gooseberry and lemon; fruit character is replayed on the palate; crisp and dry, with light / medium body.
Réserve Durand – Sauvignon Blanc – 2015 – Sancerre, France
From a small producer in France’s Loire Valley comes this dazzling white wine, rich with grapefruit and gooseberry aromas. The estate boast mature 25-30 year old vines and a mix of chalky, silicious soils.
Château Roc de Ségur – Bordeaux – 2011 – Bordeaux, France
This ripe, smoky, wood-aged wine shows ample fruit as well as solid tannins. The wine has richness and spice, the wood well balanced by black plum and final juiciness.
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French artist and Boston resident Marguerite Wibaux will lead a workshop on alla-prima, a technique made famous by Matisse.
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Marguerite will lead this fascinating workshop, which will begin with an explanation of the technique and a presentation of the model. The attendees will then be invited to pick up their brushes and produce their own portraits, alla-prima. Easels, canvas, brushes and acrylic paint provided will be provided to all attendees.
About Marguerite Wimbaux
A member of the Center since 2017, Marguerite has quite the atypical career. After graduating with an MBA from the prestigious HEC Paris, Marguerite worked in advertising for the most-renowned French Maisons, from Cartier and Hermès to Van Cleef, Hennessy, the Italian Cavalli, and Armani.
These past experiences in the realm of couture translate into Marguerite’s art. There is a passion for patterns and an obsession with composition and structure, while staying true to the energy and character of her subjects.
The colorful diversity of Marguerite’s artwork is also influenced by her childhood. Marguerite was born in Argentina, and has lived in Peru, Italy, China, France, and the USA.
Currently, Marguerite’s pieces are commissioned and sent to galleries across the globe, from Milan to New York.
To learn more, visit Marguerite’s website: https://margueritewibaux.com/
Mix and mingle with Boston’s Francophones at the French Cultural Center
March is le mois de la Francophonie! Join the French Cultural Center as they celebrate the launch of this annual celebration of the French language and Francophone cultures. This is a great opportunity to meet Boston’s Francophone institutions and sample delicious drinks and light bites from their respective cultures!
Come meet representatives from business, governments, and nonprofits and learn more about their community offerings, calendar of events, travels, studies, and work and visa programs.
Come one, come all for what promises to be a festive evening!
FREE – RSVP REQUIRED
Join the French Cultural Center for an intimate dinner and conversation with renowned opera and Broadway star Renée Fleming.
About Renée Fleming
Renée Fleming is one of the most highly-acclaimed singers of our time. Winner of four Grammy® awards, she was presented with the National Medal of Arts by President Obama in 2013. In 2014, she became the first classical artist ever to sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl, and she has sung for momentous occasions from the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to the Diamond Jubilee Concert for Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.
Renée earned a Tony Award nomination for her performance in the 2018 Broadway production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel. Her recent tour schedule has included concerts in New York, London, Vienna, Paris, Madrid, Tokyo, and Beijing. She is heard on the soundtracks of the Best Picture Oscar winner The Shape of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and as the singing voice of Roxane, played by Julianne Moore, in the film of the best-selling novel Bel Canto. As Artistic Advisor to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, she spearheads a collaboration with the National Institutes of Health focused on music, health, and neuroscience.
Renée’s most recent album Renée Fleming: Broadway was released in September by Decca. She has recorded everything from complete operas and song recitals to indie rock, jazz, and the soundtrack of The Lord of the Rings. Among Renée’s awards are the Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medal, France’s Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, Germany’s Cross of the Order of Merit, and Sweden’s Polar Music Prize.
http://www.reneefleming.com
About Mosaïque
Cultural programs are at the core of the French Cultural Center’s mission to promote the vibrant growth of Francophone cultures and the French language in New England. From art exhibits, concerts, and film screenings to author talks and children’s workshops, we continually seek to welcome experts in various cultural fields to provide a window onto the diverse cultures of the Francophone world.
Support Cultural Programming in Boston
Gifts made in honor of the Mosaïque Award Ceremony are 100% tax-deductible and provide critical support for cultural programming at the French Cultural Center.
Make checks payable to: French Cultural Center
Mail to: French Cultural Center
Attn: Joyce Grippen, Director of Development
53 Marlborough Street
Boston, MA 02116
Celebrate fashion with an exclusive show at the French Cultural Center.
Join the French Cultural Center for a fashion show featuring seven emerging designers from across the globe, live music, and over 30 exclusive looks. (Plus, open wine bar!)
Curated by Lana Barakat of Beacon Hill’s December Thieves boutique, Boston-designer Christian Restrepo and Toronto’s Nuit Atelier will present their own creations during the show.
Event starts promptly at 7:00 PM with an open wine bar. The fashion show is comprised of two fashion collection showings with a 10 minute intermission in between. We will close the evening with a wine and hors d’oeuvre reception where guests can mingle and meet the designers. Complimentary light hors d’oeuvres and an open wine bar will be provided, hors d’ oeuvres crafted by Chef Cyrille Couet courtesy of Colette Bistro.
Designers included in the show feature: Rundholz Apparel and Trippen Footwear from Germany, Lurdes Bergada from Spain, NostraSantissima from Italy, Studio B3 from Poland, Nuit Atelier from Canada and Christian Restrepo from Boston.
An evening of remembrance, community, and support.
In light of the recent fire at Notre-Dame de Paris, the French Cultural Center will host an evening to honor and celebrate this iconic landmark.
Professor Antoine Picon of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design will join us for a presentation on the marvelous architecture of Notre-Dame de Paris, including what was lost in the fire, and its significance today.
The 25-minute presentation will be followed by a reception with light refreshments. Guests will have the opportunity to make a donation to support restoration efforts – from $5 to $5,000, every dollar counts!
All donations will benefit the Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris, an organization dedicated to restoring this iconic cathedral.
Click here to RSVP.
French Cultural Center’s French Innovation series looks at French fashion innovations.
Fashion plays a significant cultural, societal, and economic role in France. The second program in the French Cultural Center’s French Innovation series will explore this French staple, from the fashion of its royal courts to the country’s indefatigable status as a pioneer in fashion and luxury innovation today.
Gwen van den Eijnde, of RISD, will enlighten us on French contributions to the world of fashion, from the first mentions of style in the fifteenth century to the liberation of women by Chanel and Dior.
For a peek into new innovations in the fashion world, Christophe Guberan will introduce us to his Active Shoes research project, which explores the future of shoe production and performance with self-transforming textiles.
Event in English. A reception with refreshments will be provided after the discussion.
Guests are welcome to explore our eye-opening French Innovation exhibition in our gallery, featuring sketches, models, and more related to this series’ programs.
About the Panelists
Christophe Guberan is a Swiss industrial designer who teaches product design at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The buzzing and innovative ecosystem of the Greater Boston Area allows him to augment his practice while experimenting with new research and technological development.
In 2014, Guberan began collaborating with the MIT Self-Assembly Lab and Founder & Director Skylar Tibbits, a pioneer in 4D printing, to create “active shoes” under the Minimal Shoe project for Design London Museum. Guberan has continued his exploration of material interactions, digital manufacturing, and self-assembly processes. His projects include Hydro-Fold, Liquid to Air, and his most recent collaboration with Tibbits, Rapid Liquid Printing, which tackles speed, scale, and quality challenges in 3D printing technology by printing objects suspended in a gel-like medium.
Gwen van den Eijnde is a Dutch-French designer working in the disciplines of fashion, fine art, and theatre. Through his expressive, avant-garde clothing and costume designs, he creates captivating characters and tells enthralling stories that stretch the imagination. A professor at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), van den Eijnde’s multi-layered approach is informed by his deep knowledge of fashion history and theory; his work is a commentary on the peculiarities of life, often finding subversive humor and fantasy rooted in fact. Van den Eijnde has studied and worked with some of the most esteemed practitioners in his field, including artist Edith Dekyndt in the Atelier Textile of the Ecole Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs de Strasbourg, costume designer Olivier Bériot, choreographer Robyn Orlin, and the revered Hermès atelier, Petit h. Before joining the faculty at RISD, he was visiting professor at the Fashion department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and Head of Textile Design at the Haute École des Arts du Rhin in Mulhouse.
