Paris: Impressions of Life 1880 – 1925
16 Mar 24 – 14 Jul 24

If you can’t take the people you love to Paris, France take them to Paris, Bendigo this autumn.

Wander through the vibrant and picturesque scenes of historical Paris where social change, urban development, and artistic innovation collided to create the modern marvel we know today. Wander through the lively banks of the Seine, the bustling marketplaces, grand boulevards, charming public gardens, and soak in the bohemian vibes of Montmartre—all beautifully captured in over 170 exquisite works of art and artisan objects. This exclusive exhibition, straight from the esteemed Musée Carnavalet – History of Paris, brings the essence of Parisian history to the heart of Bendigo.

Click here for more information and tickets.

Thankfully, to keep you waiting, the Bendigo Art Gallery is now showing another Paris-themed collection. Showing until the 3rd of November, The School of Paris: Australian artists abroad highlights the work of Australian artists having travelled or emigrated to France to learn the local techniques and surround themselves in the culture. ‘The School of Paris’ was a term coined in reference to the wave of non-French artists from around the world who gravitated to this thriving centre of artistic activity.

Click here for more information on the collection.

About the AFRAN Association:

The AFRAN association is a French-Australian network of experts, a think tank for innovation and support for communities and industries. Its mission is to provide its members (researchers, R&D managers, industry players, Australian and French innovators and decision makers) with support for collaboration and innovation beyond the capacity of individuals. The association funds bilateral initiatives of its members to develop collaboration and innovation, organizes networking events, scientific or public conferences, and feeds a website gathering information and funding opportunities useful for bilateral collaboration.

Watch the video below to learn more about the opportunities created by the organisation from Prof. Cedric Simenel, an AFRAN member who has been with the organisation since the start.

About the AFRAN Forum:

Every year, AFRAN organises a forum to develop active discussions and exchanges within the association and more broadly with the scientific and industrial communities of both France and Australia. A wide range of topics is covered in many areas of research and innovation and new opportunities for cooperation can be identified.

This year’s forum will take place in Melbourne under the theme “Innovative Planet”,
and will include inspiring keynote speeches and panels on climate change adaptation, hydrogen for mobility, space observation, health, low emission technologies, innovation and humans. The aim is to discuss “innovation” as much as “planet”, with sustainability goals in mind.

2022 Forum Program:

Book your spot here

Le Festival Français

Inspired by all things French, Le Festival Français is a celebration of the food, wine, language and above all, the culture of France.

To be held in the picturesque setting of The Heights Heritage House and Garden in Newtown, Geelong, Le Festival Français is a two-day event.

Market stalls and dining areas will be dotted throughout the historical site with roving and main stage entertainment adding to the atmosphere.

A dedicated family space includes free face painting, fun with language, and une petite ferme for the kids.

Saturday evening, the site will come alive with an intimate, special ticketed music event Soirée with a Songstress with Emma Hamilton performing.

Book your tickets here

Soirée with a Songstress

Emma Hamilton –  Saturday Evening Special Ticketed Music Event

A highlight of Le Festival Français is a special ticketed music event with Emma Hamilton to be held on Saturday evening.

Immerse yourself in a magical evening with French/Australian songstress Emma Hamilton. Authentically French, her stunning voice will transport you to another era as she performs an eclectic mix of classic French chansons, jazz, and cajun tunes. Emma’s passion and prowess on both accordion and piano is complemented by a two-piece backing ensemble.

A unique experience that is certain to leave a lasting impression.

Free glass of French champagne on arrival.

Coffee and drinks available at bar prices. This is an undercover, seated event.

Book your tickets here 

The discussion – in English – will feature a mix of testimonies and shared experiences from French PhD students as well as both emerging and established French scientists currently working in Australia. We will discuss the benefits of being bi- lingual, how language can boost an international career and how languages shape the way we see the world and do research.

Dr Frédéric Hollande – Professor, Clinical Pathology, Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (MODERATOR)

Fred obtained his PhD from the University of Montpellier and later worked as a post-doctoral research fellow at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and the University of Melbourne. He was then recruited as a Research Fellow by CNRS in France to study molecular mechanisms that underlie the progression of colon cancer.

Fred moved to Australia in September 2012 to take up a position in the Department of Pathology at the University of Melbourne. He currently is Deputy Head at the Dept of Clinical Pathology. He is also the Graduate Research Coordinator and oversees teaching activities in the Department.

His research interests include the analysis of cancer stem cell regulation by their surrounding environment, as well as the study of the impact of inter and intra-tumour heterogeneity on metastatic progression and treatment response.

Dr Yvonne Durandet

Yvonne holds a PhD degree from the University of Adelaide and a Bachelor of Engineering from SUPMECA, France.

She is currently Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Product Design Engineering, and Industry Research Coordinator in the School of Engineering at Swinburne University of Technology. She has extensive industry experience, and actively pursues industry-engaged projects for Teaching & Learning, and Research & Development.

Her research interests are in metallurgical and surface engineering, casting and solidification, welding and joining, laser processing of materials and net shape manufacturing processes such as additive manufacturing. She has over 80 publications in journals and conference proceedings related to Manufacturing Processes and Technologies, Metals and Alloys.

Prior to joining Swinburne, she was a Senior Research Engineer at BHP where she led strategic R&D projects on twin roll strip casting of steel, near net shape casting of non-ferrous metals, direct casting of steel wires and continuous hot dip metallic coatings of steel sheets.

Dr. Antoine Dujon

Dr Antoine Dujon is a scientist working as part of CANECEV, an international laboratory studying cancer and its evolution, a collaboration between France and Australia at Deakin University. His research focuses on two main topics, both using tools and concepts from ecology, the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their environment.

His first research topic aims to understand how human activities, for example, pollution or habitat degradation, increase the risk of wildlife species developing cancer and how this will affect their conservation. Dr Dujon works with species such as sea turtles, Tasmanian devils and marine bivalves, all currently experiencing cancer outbreaks impacting their health. His second research topic aims to understand how evolution shaped the various ways the human body defends itself against cancer.

Our current lifestyle is very different from what our ancestors experienced only a few decades ago, which is resulting in an increased risk of developing cancer. Understanding why will allow us to develop new prevention strategies and new therapies to reduce the negative effects of cancer on human populations. Dr Dujon’s research is therefore very pluri-disciplinary and requires him to regularly engage with both French and Australian scientists.

Noémie Friscourt

Noémie is a PhD candidate at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, a teaching and research institute of the University of Tasmania in Hobart, working on the ecology of the Antarctic fur seal. She is originally from the north of France, where she completed her bachelor in Ecology. After that, she went to Canada, where she graduated in Oceanography. There, she lived in the province of Québec, so there was no need to speak English (even if Québécois is kind of a new language for a French person!). She arrived in Tasmania at the end of 2019, her first “fully immersive” English experience. In Noémie’s words: “It is quite a challenge to live in a country where the people speak another language, but it is really rewarding!”

French is Noémie’s mother tongue. She learnt English and Spanish at school. However, as Noémie says: “Let’s be honest, the best way to learn a new language is to speak it regularly!”. Noémie has worked on international oceanographic expeditions and scientific conferences where she has had to communicate and collaborate (an important part of science!) in English. She has also worked as a marine observer on a Spanish fishing vessel and as a marine observer-coordinator with people from all around the Mediterranean basin (Italy, Spain, Croatia, Morocco, Algeria…). English and French have proved to be very useful.

Morgan Brisset

Morgan Brisset is a PhD Student at the University of Melbourne (Department of Clinical Pathology) and has been working in Australia for the past 18 months.

His PhD is a joint-PhD between the University of Melbourne and the University of Claude Bernard Lyon I in France. Morgan has a background in biochemistry (Bachelor), and in cancer biology (Master). His research focuses on the implications of dependence receptors in chemoresistance and stemness of colorectal metastatic cancer cells. His research is a drive to evaluate the efficacy of new treatments targeting dependence receptors for the therapy of metastatic cancer.

Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto premiered in Paris in autumn 2020 and makes its international debut at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto was developed by the Palais Galliera, with outstanding loans from the Direction du Patrimoine de CHANEL, the fashion house’s heritage department, and is curated by Miren Arzalluz and Véronique Belloir, respectively the Director and Head of Collections of the museum.

With designs drawn from the rich holdings of the Palais Galliera and the Patrimoine de CHANEL in Paris, complemented by important loans from major public museums and private collections, Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifestoshowcases the impressive breadth of Gabrielle Chanel’s output and her design codes. The Melbourne presentation also features several designs from the NGV Collection, including recent, never-before-seen acquisitions generously gifted by Krystyna Campbell-Pretty AM and Family, including a white lace Evening dress, spring-summer 1933 and spectacular shirred red silk velvet and marabou-lined Evening cape, c. 1924–26.

This major exhibition is presented by the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in partnership with the Palais Galliera, the preeminent fashion museum of the City of Paris, and will be launched on Saturday 4 December 2021 with the popular black-tie event.

The exhibition features 35 images focusing on cultural, historical and architectural places of interest in France. Whilst looking at the static images, patrons will be able to download an app and virtually explore these locations with their mobile phones, thanks to clever interactive digital French technology.

Camille Henrot (born 1978) will be celebrated at the National Gallery of Victoria in an Australia-first survey of the award-winning contemporary artist, who was born in France and is based in New York, and internationally renowned for multidisciplinary work that takes a playful and inventive approach to addressing major existential questions.  

The exhibition features key works from the past decade including a group of new works on paper never before exhibited. Also featured is the first Australian presentation of the immersive room-scale installation The Pale Fox, 2014, a companion piece to the widely exhibited Grosse Fatigue, 2013, for which Henrot was awarded the Silver Lion at the 55th Venice Biennale for most promising young artist. The Pale Fox attempts to explain the origins of the universe, drawing from research she undertook during a fellowship at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC in 2013.

Henrot has participated in group exhibitions in Australia, most recently the NGV Triennial in 2017. This is Camille Henrot’s first major survey exhibition in Australia.

In an international exclusive, the NGV presents a major exhibition of more than 100 masterworks of French Impressionism in partnership with the Museum of Fine Arts Boston (MFA), an institution world-renowned for its rich holdings of Impressionist paintings. 

French Impressionism charts the trajectory of the late-nineteenth century artistic movement, highlighting the key milestones and figures at the centre of this period of experimentation and revolution in modern art. 

Part of the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition series, French Impressionism features works by Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, Mary Cassatt and more – including 79 works that have never before been exhibited in Australia. These important loans from the MFA’s collection provide a rare opportunity to see a significant grouping of Impressionist masterworks in Australia. 

The exhibition evokes the artistic energy and intellectual dynamism of the period by placing emphasis on the thoughts and observations of the artists themselves.