The French Cultural Center
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| Formation | 1945 (FCC) and 1898 (AF Boston Cambridge) |
|---|---|
| Type | Educational |
| Purpose | Education and Culture |
| Location |
|
| Method | Cultural Programming and Events, Language Center, Library, Art Gallery |
| Website | http://frenchculturalcenter.org |
The French Cultural Center of Boston Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non–profit organization incorporated in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It manages the activities of the Alliance Française of Boston & Cambridge Inc. Together, the organizations operate under the identity French Cultural Center/Alliance Française of Boston (“FCC/AF”).
The mission of the combined organizations is to promote awareness, appreciation and knowledge of the French language and francophone cultures, and to encourage tolerance, openness and interaction through education and cultural programming.[1][2]
About the French Cultural Center/Alliance Française of Boston
The French Cultural Center/Alliance Française of Boston (“FCC/AF”) provides French language classes for adults and children, as well as year-round cultural programs and events.[3] Class sessions are divided into 10-week fall, winter and spring sessions for children and adults during the school year, and an 8-week Summer in French program for children and teens.[4] The language lessons are offered via group courses, private lessons, eLearning and specialized programs.[5]
The FCC/AF language program employs the Alliance Française immersion method and curriculum, which targets systematic acquisition of grammar skills as a means of acquiring and using the language. The FCC/AF hires native French-speaking teachers who are trained through the Alliance Française. Class sizes are small (maximum 10 students) to provide opportunities for students to communicate in French.
The FCC/AF’s cultural activities highlight French history, art, music, film, literature, food and wine, among other topics.[6][7][8] Every March (“le mois de la Francophonie,” or “the month of French speaking”), the FCC/AF organizes special events that highlight the cultures of French-speaking countries in the Caribbean, Africa, North America and elsewhere.[9][10]
As of 2018, the FCC/AF represents the third-largest Alliance Française in the United States. It also houses the second-largest private library collection of French books, periodicals, DVDs and CDs available in the United States, with about 30,000 volumes.[11]
The FCC/AF is located at 53 Marlborough Street in Boston’s historic Back Bay.[12] It has additional classrooms and offices in an adjoining building at 300 Berkeley Street.[13]
Bastille Day Celebration
For more than 40 years, the FCC/AF has hosted an annual Bastille Day block party celebration to commemorate the beginning of French democracy.[14] The evening event, which takes place on the Friday in July closest to the actual date of Bastille Day (July 14), occupies one entire block of Marlborough Street, between Berkeley and Clarendon streets, in front of the FCC/AF’s buildings. The celebration features live francophone music acts from around the world and welcomes more than 2,000 guests annually.[15][16]
History
The French Cultural Center/Alliance Française of Boston represents a combination of two venerable Boston institutions with overlapping missions.
The Alliance Française of Boston and Cambridge, Inc., is a private, not-for-profit organization, founded April 13, 1898. It is one of over 800 Alliance Françaises located in 138 countries worldwide.
The French Cultural Center Inc. was founded in 1945 as The French Library in Boston, Inc. Its organizers were members of the Boston chapter of France Forever, an American organization created in July 1940, in response to the historic appeal of General de Gaulle, calling on all French men and women to unite for the liberation of France from German occupation. Among the many activities of the Boston chapter was the creation of a lending library of French books and periodicals.[17][18][19]
Anticipating the post-war dissolution of France Forever, the founders determined to maintain, enlarge and make permanent this library of 500 books, which was incorporated in 1945 as The French Library in Boston, Inc.
In 2000, the two organizations, which shared the same educational mission for French language and culture, entered into an agreement by which the FCC assumed management of the affairs of the AF. Though legally separate entities, they operate jointly under the identity of the French Cultural Center/Alliance Française of Boston.
Edna Ellen Doriot and General Georges Doriot
From 1949 until her death in 1978, Edna Allen Doriot was a driving force of the French Library in Boston. Edna Doriot started as a volunteer, then spearheaded major fundraising efforts that led to a substantial endowment fund established in 1956. She was president of The French Library from 1966 until she passed away in 1978. During Edna Doriot’s tenure, the French Library obtained the two buildings that currently house the offices, classrooms and library of the FCC/AF.[20]
Following the death of Edna Doriot in 1978, Gen. Georges F. Doriot became president of The French Library, a responsibility that he continued until his death in 1987. Gen. Doriot was a professor at the Harvard Business School and is considered one of the originators of American venture capital.[21] He was the founder of American Research & Development Corp., as well as of the graduate business school INSEAD.[22]
The Marlborough Street Building
The 53 Marlborough Street building was built in 1867 for Boston’s Codman family. It was designed in the French Academic style by Charles Brigham, the younger partner in the architectural firm of Sturgis and Brigham.
In 1905, Boston sculptor Katherine Lane Weems purchased the building and later added the ballroom wing. In 1961, she donated her mansion at 53 Marlborough Street to the French Library. In 1976, the adjacent building at 300 Berkeley street was acquired and joined to the main building.
Accent on Success Program
In 2005, the French Cultural Center/Alliance Française created the Accent on Success program to provide free French language instruction to students in Greater Boston’s most underserved schools.[23] Over 500 elementary, middle and high school students have participated in this community outreach program.[24]
Mosaïque Cultural Fund
In 2011, the FCC/AF established the Mosaïque Cultural Fund to preserve the legacy of Georges and Edna Doriot, and to provide sustainable support for new cultural programming.[25]
Examples of ongoing cultural programming that Mosaïque helps to underwrite include art exhibits, author conferences, panel discussions, children’s programming, cultural celebrations, concerts and partner events with local arts and culture organizations and academic institutions. It also offers free cultural program access to individuals from underserved communities.
References
- ↑ "Massachusetts". Consulat Général de France à Boston. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
- ↑ An Interview With the New Executive Director of Boston's French Cultural Center, retrieved 2018-06-18
- ↑ "About Us – French Cultural Center". frenchculturalcenter.org.
- ↑ "Classes at the French Cultural Center, Back Bay". Back Bay Association. 2017-08-04. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
- ↑ "French Cultural Center Alliance Française of Boston - AFUSA". afusa.org. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
- ↑ "French Cultural Center Special Exhibit: May '68". 24 January 2018.
- ↑ "Behind the seams - The Boston Globe".
- ↑ "French Cultural Center hosts annual wine dinner - The Boston Globe".
- ↑ "Le Mois de la Francophonie Launch Celebration | FACC NEW ENGLAND". www.faccne.org. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
- ↑ "Le Mois de la Francophonie – March events". Franco-American News and Culture. 2018-03-08. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
- ↑ "Library for Adults – French Cultural Center". frenchculturalcenter.org.
- ↑ "53 Marlborough". Back Bay Houses. 2013-07-23. Retrieved 2018-06-15.
- ↑ "300 Berkeley". Back Bay Houses. 2013-07-12. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
- ↑ "Panorama Press".
- ↑ "Party Pics: A Bastille Day party and WGBH's Craft Beer Fest". 26 July 2017.
- ↑ http://cdn.frenchculturalcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/TBSB_8-3-17_boston_scenes-web.jpg
- ↑ "The French Cultural Center". Clio. Retrieved 2018-06-16.
- ↑ "French Corner: Discover the French Cultural Center in Boston!". Consulat Général de France à Boston. Retrieved 2018-06-16.
- ↑ "French Cultural Center | Writer Profile | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
- ↑ "Edna Allen Doriot, 77; Head of French Library". Retrieved 2018-06-16.
- ↑ "Harvard Business School". www.library.hbs.edu. Retrieved 2018-06-16.
- ↑ "Harvard Business School's Baker Library Receives Papers of Professor Georges Doriot - News - Harvard Business School". www.hbs.edu. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
- ↑ "Photos: French Cultural Center Celebrates Accent On Success". Retrieved 2018-06-16.
- ↑ "Accent on Success – French Cultural Center". frenchculturalcenter.org. Retrieved 2018-06-16.
- ↑ "French Cultural Center to Celebrate 40 Years of Fundraising at Le Bal Révolution on May 12 | Beacon Hill Times". beaconhilltimes.com. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
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