A Stradbally native is at the centre of planning for the 20th anniversary celebrations of the Irish Cultural Centre in Paris – The Centre Culturel Irlandais (CCI) – which will take place on Friday, September 16 from 7 to 10pm.
Rosetta Beaugendre, nee Walsh-Kemmis, is head of communications at the CCI which is located at 5, rue des Irlandais.
She encourages anyone who will be in Paris then to drop into the centre which was inaugurated in the 18th century former Irish College in Paris, following major renovation, in the Autumn of 2002.
Daughter of Gillie and the late Michael Walsh-Kemmis, Rosetta went to school in Stradbally and King’s Hospital, Dublin and then onto London University where she graduated in European Studies, followed by a MA in history of art.
She moved to Paris to work on a short contract with the Ministry of Education, organising a fair about the arts in schools.
“In February/March of 2002, I knocked on the door of the Irish embassy in Paris, asking if there were any opportunities to work in the cultural sector. James McIntyre who was first secretary there at the time, said I should send in my CV as they happened to be opening Ireland’s first cultural centre in the world, in Paris, that October. I started work in June and we opened in September,” Rosetta said.
“The job ticked so many boxes for me. It is in the cultural sector, with strong links back to Ireland. The arts are always changing and evolving with the world and all the issues we have had to deal with.
“It is such an interesting place to be, right in the centre of Paris. I have moved further out to live as I had children but going in to work in the fifth arrondissement is lovely.
“We are constantly bringing contemporary Ireland to an historic building in Paris, and it is an interesting juxtaposition,” she said.
When the CCI opened, it represented an ambitious new departure as regards commitment by the Irish State to the arts, Rosetta said.
“So began a wonderful baptism by fire for a small team to establish a new space in the Parisian and Irish cultural landscapes and transform a religious oriented building into a contemporary arts centre.
“Our very first exhibition ‘Innocent Landscapes’ by photographer David Farrell focused on sites where IRA victims were secretly buried. This set the tone from the outset – the CCI was not going to shy away from representing all facets of contemporary life.”
Two decades later, the successes of the CCI’s vibrant artistic showcasing and residency programmes are apparent in the reputation it now enjoys among practitioners, press and public in Ireland, France and further afield.
“Many of Ireland’s best-known artists have crossed the thresholds over the last 20 years, with Brian Friel’s 80th birthday celebration of performances and Seamus Heaney’s magical reading in the courtyard just months before his passing, standing out in everyone’s minds,” said Rosetta.
“Another memorable evening dates from ten years ago; Bob Geldof, Charlotte Rampling, Marianne Faithfull and Sinead Cusack gathered here to read poetry by Yeats in honour of Josephine Hart.”
Providing up and coming artists and musicians with a platform has been an important thrust of the CCI’s vision with performers like Gavin James, Ye Vagabonds and Saint Sister playing at the beginning of their careers.
“We have taken our role as a place of debate and discussion very seriously, from hosting an important conference on the abolition of the death penalty in the early years and talks by John Hume and Bernadette Devlin McAliskey, to discussing the collective name used for the islands of Ireland and Great Britain or the challenges of Brexit,” said Rosetta.
A residency at the CCI in Paris has become a benchmark for Irish artists and writers and Portlaoise born writer, Pat Boran is among the almost 400 people who have benefitted, the Stradbally woman said.
The residencies provide precious time to think and create without having the wolf at the door as stipends are paid and access to world class institutions provided, she said. The centre has also worked with Laois arts office.
The centre’s multimedia library is, Rosetta said, the most important source of cultural information on Ireland in France, greatly appreciated by the general public, teachers, researchers and students of Irish studies alike.
Before the opening, at 6pm on September 16, there will be a conversation with artist Aideen Barry who performed at the centre during its first year. She returns to present her new large scale film piece ‘Oblivion.’
The new work will combine performance and a moving image and sound installation. In it, Aideen responds to the threat to culture and human existence posed by war, pandemic and environmental challenges with this visually spectacular call to arms.
The doors of the elegant old library will open onto the exhibition ‘Conquering the Unknown’ that journeys through the history of scientific expeditions.
At 8pm, it will be time to hit the dancefloor with Daithi. The multi-instrumentalist and producer will draw the attendance into the courtyard to groove to his electro pop melange of synthesiser, vocals, beatbox and fiddle.
At 9pm, the party will culminate with a laser show specially designed for the courtyard façade by Conan Wynne, working with Stephen Reid and the SUBSET collective.
Meanwhile, Rosetta is looking forward to her next visit home to Laois.
“My husband, Gaël, and three children. Madeleine (17), Simon (15) and Henri (12) love our trips to Stradbally. Both Madeleine and Simon attended Scoil Mhuire Fatima, Timahoe, for a few days in the past and got the chance to play hurling while teaching the pupils some Franch. Madeleine brought some cheese and was given an Aran scarf as part of a cultural exchange.
“There is nothing like the smell of the Irish countrywide. It is very evocative. I miss the way you can just chat away with someone if say, you are held up waiting for a bus. That is not so usual in Paris. I miss the banter and the craic,” said Rosetta.
“I jokingly say that Paris is like an elegant woman of a certain age. People dress quite smartly which I like but I also enjoy being able to put on my wellies in the countryside at weekends. Aesthetics are important to Parisians, and they are also very attached to their history.
“Perhaps there is more room for spontaneity in Ireland which has allowed itself to change in recent years. France is still quite Napoleonic with coded laws and in its education system. Ireland doesn’t have the same preoccupation with hierarchy.”
One of the many things she does appreciate in France is the support given by the government to working parents including tax breaks and discounted cards for reduced travel and entry into museums to parents of three children or more. “I have heard from friends and family how difficult childcare is in Ireland.
“Twenty years here has gone by so quickly and how rich they have been both personally and professionally. It’s the people you live, work and have fun with that add to the blend you brought with you originally. So I’m probably quite Franco-Irish now but Stradbally is still my hometown.”
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