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The French Institute Alliance Française, FIAF, has a new name and brand identity, and exciting updates to our language and cultural programmes

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The French Institute Alliance Française, FIAF, is pleased to announce the launch of a new name and brand identity, along with upcoming arts and cultural programmes and news, including details of the annual Bastille Day celebration. Starting today, FIAF will be known as L’Alliance New York. While our name and look are changing, the core values of our organisation remain steadfast. L’Alliance New York continues to be part of the global Alliance Française network, which comprises over 834 cultural and language centers in 131 countries, and we will maintain and expand upon our tradition of offering top-tier French language classes and artistic programming that reflect the rich diversity of francophone cultures. Since our inception over 125 years ago, our organisation and its audience have evolved significantly. In 2022, L’Alliance New York welcomed a new President, Tatyana Franck, and just last fall named Violaine Huisman as Artistic Director. With the emergence of this new leadership it is time to modernise and realign our mission and vision: to serve as the home of francophone cultures and French language, a beacon from New York to the world.

L’Alliance New York President Tatyana Franck explains, “Over the past 125 years, our organisation has taught French to hundreds of thousands of students of all ages in New York City, Montclair and online. We’ve welcomed luminaries from the worlds of art, culture, philosophy, literature, and business, presented renowned artworks in our gallery, and shared francophone cinema and theater masterpieces with you in Florence Gould Hall, which today becomes Florence Gould Theater. As we look back at all we’ve accomplished, and all the moments shared with you, the future looks even brighter. Our new name and visual identity symbolise our dedication to innovation, growth, and inclusivity, enabling us to better connect with our community.” Franck continues, “It’s been a thrill to see that our mission and programs resonate with so many. L’Alliance’s ability to serve an ever-growing community is made possible by the generosity of our many supporters. The first phase of a landmark fundraising campaign, ‘L’Alliance 125,’ has raised $9M thanks to the precious support of our renewed Board of Trustees and leadership gifts from The Florence Gould Foundation, and The Stephen and Amandine Freidheim Foundation. We are extremely grateful to those who have given their early support of our new vision for L’Alliance”, says Franck. “

I look forward to welcoming you to L’Alliance New York at our annual Bastille Day celebration on Sunday, July 14!”

Along with our new name, we also are launching a brand-new website, which will include a more user-friendly interface, improved class search pages, and a weekly blog with articles on subjects ranging from culture to food to French language tips. We’re also thrilled to share the news that our eigth floor event space, Le Skyroom, has been renovated. Improvements to the space include new French white oak hardwood floors, micro-cement kitchen floors and cork countertops, updated lighting, and newly painted walls including a painted projection wall.

Continuing our tradition of being NYC’s destination for French cinema, Jake Perlin has joined L’Alliance New York as our new film curator. Over the last twenty years, Perlin has been Associate Film Programmer at BAM and Curator-at-Large at Lincoln Center, before becoming the Founding Artistic Director of Metrograph. He’s also a film distributor (Film Desk, specialising in re-releases by filmmakers), and publisher (Film Desk Books, including Cocteau’s Diary of a Film and Duras/Godard Dialogues). Perlin has a special connection with L’Alliance New York, having co-programmed numerous series with Marie Losier in the early-2000s, and as a longtime collaborator with past curator Delphine Selles-Alvarez. His contributions to the field have been recognised with prestigious honours, including being named Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 2018. Perlin’s first L’Alliance series of film curation will begin in September 2024 with CinéSalon.

L’Alliance New York has gone through many changes, evolving with the times and with our expanding audience as the interest and use of the French language increases (French is currently the fifth most widely spoken language in the world and is on track to be the second most spoken language in the world by 2050). In response to the increasing demand to learn French, L’Alliance expanded to Montclair, New Jersey, in 2012. After ten years of success with their French-immersion preschool model at L’Alliance New York’s Manhattan Campus, L’Alliance will open a second preschool this fall in Montclair. At the same time, they will also be introducing classes for children ages 12-24 months. In addition to the expansions in Montclair, starting in September, L’Alliance New York’s Language Center is also expanding its offering by partnering with the Centre National d’Enseignement à Distance (CNED), which will provide children and families the opportunity to formally follow the grade-appropriate French track and validate their language skills with the CNED at the end of each school year. CNED will be a major benefit to the francophone expat community.

In addition to children and teen classes, we continue to offer camps, special workshops, and international trips. L’Alliance also remains one of the top centres in the United States. for providing official French certification exams (DELF, DALF, TCF, TEF, and DAEFLE), which certify your French proficiency for school records, university applications, career development, immigration purposes, and more. With these new additions, L’Alliance remains committed to offering the best fully immersive French classes taught by native French-speaking instructors, catering to all ages and levels. Our classes are available in-person at our Manhattan and Montclair locations, as well as online, and in private, semi-private, and corporate formats.