Le French May rocks Hong Kong, Macau

This is an exciting month for Southeast Asia’s Francophiles who will schedule visits, or are already on a holiday, in Hong Kong and Macau. Ongoing until June 28 is Le French May, the annual cultural showcase of all things French. It has staged more than 800 events in over two decades.

We went to two of the exhibits, first of which is “The Little Prince,” a tribute to aviator and award-winning author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and his well-loved illustrated children’s book.

The second, “Skyart,” displays illustrator-photographer Thomas Lamadieu’s playful, quirky artworks. The artist uses patches of blue sky as canvases for his French characters that interact with the urbanscape.

The events lineup of Le French May’s latest edition also has classical music and opera, such as the concert “Philippe Jaroussky & Venice Baroque Orchestra—Handel vs Porpora”; Charles-François Gounod’s “Faust”; and, on June 6, “Liquid Architecture” by Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, at the HK Jockey Club Amphitheatre.

Under the jazz, pop and electro music category, Paris Combo performs on May 30; Thomas Enhco Jazz Trio, June 13; and Fête  de la Musique will be held at Stanley Plaza, June 22.

Scheduled next month are dance performances by Benjamin Millepied, choreographer of the 2010 award-winning film “Black Swan,” and his LA Dance Project, June 10-11; the Chinese opera and French comedy theater hybrid “The Mirror,” by Théâtre des Asphodèles, June 6-7; and contemporary circus show “L’Immédiat” at Kwai Tsing Theatre, June 20-21.

In Heritage Exhibitions, there’s “The Little Prince,” until June 2; “Plagues,” a tribute to Alexandre Yersin and science heroes, until June 29; “Palaces on the Seas” at Hong Kong Maritime Museum; “Masterpieces of Painting from French National Museums,” starting June 27 at The Macao Museum of Art; and “Golden Time of the Kings,” featuring Kraemer Gallery’s 18th-century antique furniture and art from France, until May 31 at Hullet House on Canton Road.

Art shows

Among the modern and contemporary art shows are “Skyart,” until May 31 at Hopewell Center’s open piazza; “Biennial of the Lions,” starting next month in Macau; and “Paris – Chinese Painting: Legacy of the 20th-Century Chinese Masters,” beginning June 20 at HK Museum of Art.

In Design and Fashion, “Andrée Putman: Ambassador of Style,” until June 8, features French elegance as defined by Putman, the woman dubbed Queen of the Checkerboard.

“Essential Accessories of the Little Black Dress,” until June 2 at Metal and Water Zones of Elements mall, highlights the fashion accents used to perk up the most classic of women’s staples, the LBD.

Ongoing until the first week of June are “French Times in Paris: French Heritage in Clock & Watch-Making” at Harbour City, and over at IFC Mall’s Oval Atrium, “Cabinet de Curiosités,” an exhibit of craftsmanship by EPVs, or Living Heritage Companies, a label of recognition given to French companies that have demonstrated artisanal and industrial excellence.

For more events and schedules, visit https://www.frenchmay.com/en