A French fest returns this year, celebrating the local curation of Pablo Picasso works and sharing the love for art, culture, and music.

The French May Arts Fest hosts its 32^nd edition of events, featuring Karena Lam as the ambassador for the 13^th year. The fest connects France with Hong Kong, enabling cultural exchange. Themed “Vive L’art’—In Art We Live”, there are over 60 programmes scheduled between March to July, including art exhibitions and classical music performances.

Since 2007, from her Paris study abroad, Karena has been passionate about France. She thinks Mille-feuille is the one thing from French culture that represents life. This dessert comes with layers and cream, just like life is one chapter after another. “You look at it and it looks quite strong, but actually when you cut it, it's very soft and it's very crunchy,” she describes. “The taste is so simple. But you know inside, there's so much work that was put into it.”

Although the fest has reached 20 million attendees since 1993, Karena sees the numbers dropping in the past few years. She believes there should be a new approach to engage the youth, stressing that art is important to health and wellbeing. “Living as a human is tough,” she says. “Looking at an artist’s work, you feel connected with it because it helps you release suppressed emotions.”

As an actress, she films six days a week. When it is her rest day, she rushes to a pottery studio to start crafting. In a calming environment without any distractions, making art uplifts her energy. Integrating art into her daily life has been a habit, Karena frequently brings her family to art museums.

“I think children are often infected by art. They go back and talk to their mom and dad, and then the mom and dad will participate in art,” she says. “Starting from education and children, we drive adults into art galleries.”

She recommends the opening exhibition at the M+ museum, Picasso for Asia—A Conversation, running until July 13. Although the artist Picasso left the world decades ago, she believes his works remain relevant because of their touching rawness.

“Art is very open and embracing,” she adds. “Ten people can look at the same painting and take away something different because each of their personal stories is distinctive.”

Apart from the exhibition, there is also a jazz duo between French singer-pianist Sarah Lancman and local musician Joyce Cheung. To Karena, the collaborative relationship between the East and West started way back in history. “Very early on, French people were intrigued by China’s ceramics, they used gift exchange to stimulate dialogue, to understand more about this material,” she says. “The Hong Kong Palace Museum is doing a similar thing, but actually this friendship started way before.”

As a creator, she believes Hong Kong can negotiate with Shenzhen to host more cultural exchange shows like French May in the Greater Bay Area. It is meaningful to present the merger of East and West to a broader audience.

Cover photo: French May

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