French May Arts Festival 2025 Co-presenting the groundbreaking cross-cultural exhibition 'The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Picasso for Asia--A Conversation' with M+

From March to July, venture along the cultural bridges of East and West and discover a kaleidoscope of more than 60 programmes featuring the best of French art, cinema, circus, music, dance, theatre and gastronomy.

HONG KONG, March 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Supported by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust as Major Partner, alongside other patrons and partners, The French May Arts Festival (French May) 2025 is delighted to announce the launch of this year's programmes. Themed 'Vive L'art' – In Art We Live, the 32^nd edition of French May is returning with more than 60 arts and cultural programmes spanning art, cinema, circus, music, dance, theatre and gastronomy. Supported by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust alongside other patrons and partners, the festival runs from 15 March to 13 July, beginning with the groundbreaking The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Picasso for Asia—A Conversation exhibition co-presented with M+. By providing a platform for local and international arts and cultural talent through vibrant cross-cultural collaborations, French May hopes to enrich and enliven audiences with the best of French culture and heritage, bolstering cultural bridges between East and West.

Through partnerships with M+, Tai Kwun and others, this year French May is reaching out to touch everything and be everywhere for everyone through the best of French arts and culture. Highlighted programmes include:

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Picasso for Asia—A Conversation

Co-presented by French May and M+, co-organised by M+ and Musée national Picasso-Paris (MnPP), The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Picasso for Asia—A Conversation is the opening programme of the French May Arts Festival 2025. It is generously supported by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust as Title Sponsor and financially supported by the Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. The exhibition is also among activities marking the 140th anniversary of The Hong Kong Jockey Club.

The groundbreaking exhibition brings together more than 60 works by Spanish master Pablo Picasso and over 80 pieces by Asian and Asian-diasporic artists from the M+ Collections. This is the first time that masterpieces from the Musée national Picasso-Paris have been shown in dialogue with a museum collection in Asia. It marks the first major exhibition of Picasso in Hong Kong in more than a decade, examining Picasso's enduring influence in and connections with Asia for the first time. Tickets are now available for purchase. For details, please visit M+ website.

Dates: 15 March – 13 July 2025

Venue: West Gallery, M+

French GourMay Food and Wine Festival

French GourMay is the only major festival in Hong Kong dedicated to French gastronomy. From 1 to 31 May, discover the diverse world of French spirits. Be it as an ingredient in cooking, as a component in cocktails or as a digestive served after a meal, explore the many faces of French spirits and liquors. Stay tuned for more information on exclusive restaurant and bar offers, retailer promotions, thematic workshops at learning centres and more! 

Dates: 1 – 31 May 2025

Le Bal 

Experience the splendour of the Belle Époque period with this fanciful street parade inspired by the works of Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Edgar Degas. Produced by Remue Ménage, a world-renowned French company that marries visual arts with circus, dance and puppetry art, party the night away with magnificent horse-drawn carriages, dancers and acrobats. A signature event of the French Rendezvous@Tai Kwun series. 

Dates: 9-11, 13-18 May 2025

Venue: Parade Ground, Tai Kwun

Gautier Capuçon plays Shostakovich

Presented by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, catch the debonair French cellist Gautier Capuçon alongside Austrian conductor Christoph Koncz live on stage in a concert that honours a double musical anniversary – of French composer Maurice Ravel's 150^th birthday, and Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich's 50^th death.

Dates: 8 – 9 May 2025

Venue: Concert Hall, Hong Kong Cultural Centre

Trio Wanderer Hong Kong Début

Co-presented by the French May Arts Festival and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Trio Wanderer will be making their much-anticipated Hong Kong début with a recital of exquisite piano trio classics by Debussy, Ravel and Mendelssohn. They will also join hands with Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Music Director Designate of Prague Symphony Orchestra Tomáš Netopil to present Beethoven's iconic Triple Concerto.

Dates: 14 & 17 May 2025

Venue: Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall

French May Cinema Programme

Organised by the Alliance Française de Hong Kong, catch a selection of French films across a wide variety of genres. Check out screenings at designated cinemas on the Broadway Circuit and more. Stay tuned for more details!

Dates: 20 May – 4 June 2025

Venues: Broadway Circuit and other cinemas 

Corps extrêmes

Presented by West Kowloon Cultural District, Corps extrêmes (Extreme Bodies) explores the human desire for weightlessness through an exhilarating mix of dance, acrobatics and extreme sports. Intimate yet larger than life, the gravity-defying performance combines projections, spoken word and a musical score, revealing an existential human experience anchored in reality and suspended in the world of dreams.              

Dates: 30 May – 1 June 2025

Venue: Grand Theatre, Xiqu Centre

Giselle

Presented by the Hong Kong Ballet (HKB), let HKB's Artistic Director Septime Webre and South African ballet artist Charla Genn take you away on a tale of love, betrayal and redemption in one of the most romantic ballets of all time. Immerse in the poignant story of carefree peasant girl Giselle who unexpectedly falls in love with Albrecht, a flirtatious nobleman in disguise. Featuring brand new sets and costume designs by Jérôme Kaplan, winner of Benoir de la Danse, and guest appearances of Paris Opera Ballet principal dancer Hugo Marchand and The Royal Ballet principal dancer Marianela Nuñez and Matthew Ball.

Dates: 30 May – 8 June 2025

Venue: Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre

Jazz Female Duo – Paris Rendezvous

Experience an enchanting performance by the talented jazz female duo – Joyce Cheung from Hong Kong and Sarah Lancman from France, who promise to deliver a captivating soundscape that weaves together the unique cultural heritage of jazz standards and French hits.

Date: 6 June 2025

Venue: Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall

Erik Truffaz – Rollin' & Clap!

Follow trumpeter Erik Truffaz, one of the world's leading jazz stars, to the golden age of French cinema in a riveting performance of work by composers Nino Rota, Michel Magne, Ennio Morricone and Philippe Sarde. Joining him are his long-time accomplices Marcello Giuliani and musicians Raphaël Chassin, Alexis Anérilles and Matthis Pascaud. Discover the beauty of a sensitive homage that still shines in today's collective imagination!

Date: 7 June 2025

Venue: Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall

Echoes of the Heart

Discover a rich cross-cultural musical performance delivered straight from the heart by Cantopop sensation Jay Fung and talented French singer Joyce Jonathan. Performed in Chinese, English and French, revel in the dynamic synergy of the two performers.

Date: 14 June 2025

Venue: Concert Hall, Hong Kong Cultural Centre

Souvenirs

Co-produced by French May and Alliance Française de Hong Kong, catch the dance couple Claire Théault and Anthony Figueiredo of France's Got Talent fame live on stage as they take audiences on a journey through their memories in their luggage of life. A visual, poetic and choreographic performance mixing live shadows, dance and physical theatre.

Dates: 14 – 15 June 2025

Venue: Theatre, Sheung Wan Civic Centre

The Jockey Club Community Outreach and Arts Education Programmes

Thanks to The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, which is supporting the festival for the 14^th consecutive year, French May is able to share the pleasures of French culture with the wider community. The Jockey Club Community Outreach and Arts Education Programmes – comprising outreach projects, educational talks, workshops, masterclasses and free performances – will enable a wider and more diverse audience to experience French arts and culture first hand.

More detailed information for individual programmes and activities will be available in April.

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About the French May Arts Festival

Established in 1993, French May is one of the largest cultural events in Asia. With about 100 programmes presented across two months, we showcase the most diversified art forms – from heritage and contemporary art, paintings and design to classical music and hip-hop dance, cinema and circus. It has become an iconic part of Hong Kong's cultural scene, reaching over 200,000 visitors each year.

French May brings the arts to everyone, not only in cultural venues, but also in public spaces, shopping malls and more, inviting everyone across Hong Kong to enjoy art in their daily lives.

With the aim of promoting accessible arts for all, French May places a strong emphasis on education through outreach programmes, guided tours, workshops, masterclasses and free performances. The festival strives to reach the widest possible audience and contribute to education of the young and less-privileged, working closely with over 50 local institutions and organisations to establish barrier-free access to the arts.

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SOURCE French May Arts Festival 2025