The French-American Cultural Foundation is committed to advancing and enhancing partnerships between France and America through initiatives in the arts, business, and sciences. We celebrate our shared culture and a way of life that emphasizes independence, creativity, and excellence.
Cur Non? Pourquoi Pas? Why Not?
The Marquis de Lafayette, who served the Continental Army with distinction during the American Revolutionary War, was born of a family whose coat of arms bore the Latin words “Cur Non” or “Why Not?” These are words we at the French-American Cultural Foundation live by as we celebrate with “joie de vivre” our countries’ rich heritage and exciting future!
Spotlight
Together with Notre-Dame de Paris
Celebrating the spiritual and cultural significance of Notre-Dame de Paris and hope for its future after the tragic fire, The French-American Cultural Foundation was part of a special concert held on April 26th in support of restoration efforts. We are proud to support the current fundraising drive. If you would like to make a donation you can do so at:
Friends of Notre Dame: You can donate online using a credit card or PayPal, or by sending a check in the mail.
La Fondation du patrimoine: The French Heritage Foundation is accepting tax-deductible donations online via credit card to contribute to rebuilding the cathedral.
Partner Spotlight: Mount Vernon
The French-American Cultural Foundation is partnered with some of the world’s most important historical sites and esteemed institutions. Mount Vernon held a unique lecture by Library Research Fellow Iris de Rode on the recently discovered letters between George Washington and unsung revolutionary hero Francois-Jean de Chastellux.
Past Events
France and the American Revolution: At War and at Peace’
The French-American Cultural Foundation, the French Embassy, and The National Museum of American History joined forces to produce an insightful seminar with leading experts and a groundbreaking new exhibition on the American Revolution.
News
Meet Our Board: Claire Dwoskin
As a life-long Washingtonian, becoming involved with the French-American Cultural Foundation has represented an opportunity to invite and reinvigorate French-influenced social, cultural and business relationships into my activities and has renewed my interest in an old love, French culture and style. Books I collected and pored over in my 20’s and 30’s on French furniture,
“Paris, Capital of Fashion” at FIT
The Paris, Capital of Fashion exhibit at the Fashion Institute of Technology’s museum in New York City explores how and why Paris became the international capital of fashion. It features approximately 75 fashion ensembles, dating from the 18th century to the present, as well as accessories. Curated by Dr. Valerie Steele, director of The Museum
Book Highlight: “Proust’s Duchess”
Proust’s Duchess: How Three Celebrated Women Captured the Imagination of Fin-De-Siècle Paris is a “beguiling group biography of three aristocratic salonnières of Parisian high society in the Belle Époque. Together they inspired the composite figure of the exquisite, elegantly remote Duchesse de Guermantes, the muse of Proust’s dreams of chivalric French history, romance and la