For Matthieu Ardin, his job is his passion.
As executive director of the French Institute (Institut Français) in Kyiv, Ardin brings French art and culture to Ukraine with frequent festivals, exhibitions, concerts and educational collaboration.
When Ardin arrived in Ukraine in 2006 to manage the Institut Français – a cultural department of the French Embassy – he had no management experience, he says. But he knew Ukraine well enough as he visited the country several times since the early 1980s.
After four years in Ukraine, Ardin moved on to head the French Institute in Moscow, only to reclaim his position in Kyiv in 2014.
Now in his second term at Ukraine’s French Institute, Ardin, 52, says the EuroMaidan Revolution that ousted ex-President Viktor Yanukovych and Russia’s war in Donbas that followed changed not only the country, but the institute as well.
“In 2014, when I made it back, the institute was already different,” Ardin explains.
The main reason, he says, is that war and recession mean that fewer people study French.
“Even when the prices are not high, for many it’s an effort they have to make (to take classes),” Ardin says.
Now some 500 people study at the French Institute which was established in 1994 and operates under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France. French institutes in all countries rely on the Alliance Française network, a non-profit cultural and educational organization that also promotes the French language and culture. Alliance Française is present in six Ukrainian cities apart from Kyiv, namely Dnipro, Kharkiv, Lviv, Odesa, Rivne and Zaporizhzhya.
Another thing that has changed is the approach of Ukrainian partners.
“They became more responsible in terms of organization and finances,” Ardin says.
French culture has always been special for Ukrainians many of whom know it by movies featuring Louis de Funès and Joe Dassin songs.
“Ukrainians love France and we have to be proud of it,” Ardin says. “But (France) is changing and we have to show its transformation.”
That’s what the French Institute has been doing for the last 13 years with the French Spring, an annual month-long festival that celebrates French culture in Ukraine.
One of Ardin’s favorite events of all the French Spring festivals was “The Square of Angels,” a show by circus studios from Marseille that took place in Kyiv in 2010. During the show on Sofiyska Square in Kyiv, the acrobats threw some two tons of feathers from the bell tower of St. Sofia Cathedral.
“The audience loved the show and I saw some older ladies who ‘prepared’ well – they had big sacks and collected the feathers. Those were hypoallergenic feathers the artists brought from France,” Ardin recalls with a warm smile.
This year’s festival kicked off with “Galileo,” a show by French circus theater group Deus Ex Machina that tells a story of the Italian astronomer and scientist Galileo Galilei, who promoted the Heliocentric theory, which rightfully states that the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun. In Galilei’s time, it was believed that the Sun and planets revolved around the Earth.
“(Organizing the shows) can be both stressful and very pleasant,” Ardin says, adding that sometimes they had difficulties getting all the permissions to use the location, which is usually a square in central Kyiv. This year, however, the organization was flawless, Ardin says.
One of the key objectives of the French Institute is also to showcase the talents of Ukrainians. This is an example of effective co-production, according to Ardin.
In 2015, the highlight of the French Spring was “Antigone,” a play staged by French director Lucie Berelowitsch from the theater of Cherbourg, that starred actors of the Kyiv-based Dakh Theater. The show was very successful: after Kyiv, it was performed across France 13 times. In April, “Antigone” will be performed in Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhya, Dnipro and Odesa.
At the same time, Dakh Daughters – music and theater project which started in Kyiv in 2012 – become quite popular in France.
“Their shows are always crowded,” Ardin says.
Another example is the ballet “Motion” for which French choreographer Brahim Bouchelaghem picked 12 Ukrainian dancers to show modern ballet with the elements of hip-hop. Kyiv’s National Operetta Theater is scheduled to show it on April 24.
In the meantime, Ardin also runs cooking classes that usually take place at Kyiv’s Tres Français (“Very French”) restaurant. Ardin stresses that he’s not a professional chef, so he often invites one to the classes.
“We cook something that I often cook at home,” Ardin says. “(These meetings) are not only about cooking, we also talk about France and French way of life.”
But Ardin says he is also a fan of Ukrainian cuisine. Traditional holubtsi (cabbage rolls with meat filling) are among his favorites.
Apparently, Ardin is in love with everything he does: “It’s a pleasure to share emotional and intellectual activities with people,” he says.
