In the spring of 1917, the United States entered World War One, joining France and its allies, and fundamentally shifting the balance of the conflict. 1917 would also prove to be a pivotal year in art and culture due, in large part, to an extraordinary exchange of ideas between Europe and America. From jazz to avant-garde art, silent film and modern literature, it was a time of almost unprecedented change and innovation on both sides of the Atlantic.

Kicking off a major nationwide centennial commemoration this spring, the French Embassy has assembled a series of events in New York City as part of a yearlong program “How 1917 Changed the World.” Centennial activities will continue throughout the year from Boston to Chicago and Atlanta.

As the events of this year demonstrate, the friendship between the United States and France has been both central to the preservation of democracy around the world and a driving force behind a long, remarkable history of cultural and artistic creativity. It is our honor to commemorate the sacrifice made by the American soldiers who participated in the war and to celebrate the enduring bond between France and the United States that has helped shape our world over the last hundred years.

For more information visit: FRENCHCULTURE.ORG | @FRANCEINNYC | #WWICENTENNIAL

The Cultural Services of the French Embassy promotes the best of French arts, literature, cinema, digital innovation, language, and higher education across the US. Based in New York City, Washington D.C., and eight other cities across the country, the Cultural Services brings artists, authors, intellectuals and innovators to cities nationwide. It also builds partnerships between French and American artists, institutions and universities on both sides of the Atlantic. In New York, through its bookshop Albertine, it fosters French-American exchange around literature and the arts.