This initiative marks a significant step in the Ministry of Culture’s international strategy to support artistic creation. It builds on the ambition of the former European production hubs to organise international production networks in the regions and to enhance the influence of the French arts scene abroad, whilst equipping the scheme with enhanced resources and tools.

In its first year of implementation, the programme brings together 11 hubs of organisations to which the Ministry of Culture has awarded the designation of ‘international production and distribution hub’.

What is an International Production and Distribution Hub ?

International Hubs for Production and Distribution (PIPD) are artistic institutions located throughout the country – organisations involved in the production and distribution of performing or visual arts, art colleges, and national resource centres – which come together around a shared project based on a common artistic vision and strategy, and receive long-term support, particularly financial, from the Ministry of Culture.

They have a range of objectives:

• support artists from the French arts scene in their international careers;
• produce works (performances, exhibitions, hybrid projects) by these same artists;
• organise their international distribution;
• to this end, develop long-term partnerships with foreign cultural partners;
• act as a local resource for the arts community in their region on matters of international cooperation.

An international production and distribution hub necessarily brings together several organisations. One of these acts as the lead organisation, steering the initiative.

Ministerial support is granted for a renewable period of five years, within the framework of a joint terms of reference.

Programme coordination

Led by the Ministry of Culture — Direction générale de la création artistique (Directorate-General for Artistic Creation, DGCA) and Sous-direction des affaires européennes et internationales (Sub-Directorate for European and International Affairs, SDAEI) — in conjunction with the Directions Régionales des Affaires Culturelles (Regional Directorates for Cultural Affairs, DRAC), the programme is supported by a standing coordination committee comprising, alongside the Ministry, the key players in international cooperation and mobility:

• Institut français (French Institute) ;
• Office national de diffusion artistique (National Office for the Distribution of the Arts, Onda) ; 
• Relais Culture Europe (Culture Europe Relay) ;
• On the Move.

Closely involved in defining the programme, selecting the hubs and overseeing them, these four partners help to drive the scheme forward by providing the hubs with support in the form of consultancy, project management, networking, strategic guidance and the production of thematic resources.

The hubs thus benefit from coordinated support, both individual and collective, tailored to their evolving needs and regularly updated.

Which are the first eleven hubs currently in operation ?