Where do we find hope and strength?

Where do we find hope and strength?

When the world is even more troubled than usual, where do we find the hope and strength that motivate us to organise this artistic and civic celebration? At a time where democracy is under threat, why is it important to participate in the Festival d’Avignon and meet artists from all over France and the world?

In a highly polarised society, where discourses are simplified to better manipulate the listeners, the Festival d’Avignon protects and promotes the diversity of discourses and the fertile richness of democratic dissent. It offers its audience a collective artistic experience which fosters social cohesion and allows for dialogue with different perspectives on art and the world. The Festival d’Avignon is a space and time for the awakening of sensitivity and the joyful discovery of differences; a Festival which preserves and shares hope and strength.

At a crucial moment for our collective future, Avignon remains true to its founding ideals as a popular, democratic, republican, progressive, ecological, feminist, and anti-racist Festival. It is the Festival’s historical responsibility to call for everyone’s participation in the upcoming legislative elections, to encourage voting within our democratic framework, and to bring everyone together to block the far right.

Against the hatred of others, the love of difference. Against fear, the strength of hope.

Tiago Rodrigues, director of the Festival d'Avignon
27 June 2024