France & St. Louis Celebrate the Life and Legacy of Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker
November 29 & 30, 2021
In November 29 and 30, France & St. Louis (MO) is celebrating Josephine Baker’s induction into the Pantheon on November 30 in Paris and paying tribute to her life and legacy by screening the documentary “L’autre Joséphine” by Philip Judith-Gozlin, with a performance by St. Louis Language Immersion School / French Immersion School and Washington University’ Students, a panel discussion on her artistic and activist legacy and an exhibit at the Missouri History Museum with special guests including Washington University Chancellor Andrew Martin and Consul General of France Yannick Tagand.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29th
5:00 – 6:30 PM
Documentary Screening: “L’autre Joséphine” by Philip Judith-Gozlin
France | 2008 | 64 minutes
In French with English subtitles
The film will be presented by Lionel Cuillé, Teaching Professor in French and Director of the cultural center “French ConneXions.”
Behind the nudity of this sculptural “Ebony Venus” Freda Joséphine Mac Donald was a committed artist, a convinced militant and the mother of a multicultural family. With the passing years she fought for numerous causes, first glory, then black and oppressed people. This film is the intimate portrait of a mixed blood African American woman, a less known side of Joséphine Baker. A woman born in the USA, one of the precursors of a political and democratic change.
Location: Brown Hall 100 – Washington University in St. Louis
Presented by: cultural center French ConneXions at Washington University in St. Louis
Free – Open to all – To register click HERE
7:00 PM
Celebration Dinner: Honoring the Legacy of Josephine Baker
Presented by The Alliance Française de Saint Louis and the Société Française de Saint Louis.
Under the patronage of Yannick Tagand, Consul General of France.
Location: Missouri Athletic Club (map)
405 Washington Ave, St. Louis, MO 63102
6:45 PM – Cash Bar
7:30 PM – Dinner
$65/person, check of card payment to the Alliance Française de St. Louis
Space is limited. Call 314-432-0734
For menu and more details click HERE
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30TH
4:00 – 6:00 PM
Celebration of St. Louis-born Josephine Baker at the Graham Chapel – Washington University in St. Louis with special guests including University Chancellor Andrew Martin and Consul General of France Yannick Tagand. An event with musical performances by WashU students, and by fifth-graders from the French Immersion School, and panel discussion featuring artists, performers, and scholars.
• Official Ceremony at the Panthéon – LIVE from Paris, France
• Performance by St. Louis Language Immersion School / French Immersion School and Washington University’ Students.
• Panel Discussion: Josephine Baker’s Artistic and Activist Legacy
“The Land on Which We Dance: Reclaiming the Spaces of Black Dance in St. Louis”
Moderators:
Patrick Burke, Chair, Department of Music, Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology
Geoff Ward, Professor of African and African-American Studies, Faculty Affiliate in Sociology and American Culture Studies, and Director, WashU & Slavery Project, Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity.
Featuring:
Denise Ward-Brown, filmmaker and professor at Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, Washington University.
Joanna Dee Das, Assistant Professor of Dance, Washington University.
Lois Conley, Director of The Griot Museum of Black History.
Heather Himes, Choregrapher
Location: Graham Memorial Chapel (map)
Program presented by: cultural center French ConneXions at Washington University in St. Louis
Free – Open to all – To register click HERE
6:30 – 8:00 PM
Josephine Baker: J’ai deux amours
Join the Alliance Française de St. Louis, Consul General of France Yannick Tagand, and the Missouri Historical Society for a special in-person program that will include a presentation of Josephine Baker’s art, activism, and service.
Come early to see the display of Josephine Baker ephemera, as well as her featured section in the exhibit St. Louis Sound.
More details
Location: The Missouri History Museum
5700 Lindell Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63112 (map)
Lee Auditorium | Society
Free – Open to all
Presented by: Alliance Française de St. Louis
In partnership with
French Connexions Cultural Center at Washington University in St Louis
The French Connections Cultural Center, housed in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures (RLL) at Washington University in St. Louis, helps promote French Language and culture in the heart of the Midwest. It is a member of The Centers of Excellence, a support network for the Embassy of France to develop transatlantic relationship on their campus.
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university in Greater St. Louis. Founded in 1853 and named after George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all 50 U.S. states and more than 120 countries. Washington University is composed of seven graduate and undergraduate schools that encompass a broad range of academic fields. As of 2020, 25 Nobel laureates in economics, physiology and medicine, chemistry, and physics have been affiliated with Washington University, ten having done the major part of their pioneering research at the university.
Alliance Française de Saint Louis
The Alliance Française de Saint Louis is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization incorporated in the state of Missouri and part of the Alliance Française global network that dates from 1883 and spans 138 countries with over 1100 chapters. It foster an appreciation for French language and culture, and maintain a center which serves as a resource for individuals, universities, corporations and cultural groups to learn more about France and French-speaking countries and their peoples in Saint Louis and the state of Missouri.
Saint Louis Language Immersion School
The mission of St. Louis Language Immersion School is to position all children for success in local and global economies through holistic, intellectually inspiring language immersion programs. It is a K-8 tuition free public charter language immersion school in French, Spanish and Mandarin.
Missouri History Museum
One of the most visited history museums in the nation, the Missouri History Museum looks at the history of the St. Louis region from the Mississippian people up to the present day. The Museum’s historic building was the first national monument to Thomas Jefferson, and opened to the public in 1913 on the site of the entrance to the 1904 World’s Fair.
