The centre

Cultivating differences, imagining common horizons

Between the brilliance of Burgundian heritage and Japanese elegance, the Centre unites art, diplomacy and tradition to meet contemporary challenges through the power of intercultural dialogue.

The East-West Cultural Exchange Centre is an institution dedicated to dialogue between Eastern and Western cultures, based at the Château de Saint-Germain-du-Plain, Burgundy, France.

The Centre’s mission is to promote exchanges between cultures – in the broadest sense – and between people of the East and West.

We want to provide a platform where ideas flow freely, where disciplines and people meet, where history is told and cultural differences become a source of inspiration and reflection.

In an international context marked by numerous societal, economic and technological challenges, dialogue, mutual understanding and respect for our differences are more than ever essential for our contemporary societies to imagine common horizons.

Designed to welcome artists, researchers and thinkers, the Center offers spaces and infrastructures dedicated to creation, contemplation and exchange. It combines the elegance of a Burgundian château with Japanese serenity, offering a setting conducive to intercultural dialogue, experimentation and the renewal of ideas, both local and international in scope.

Our mission

Our actions

Events and festivals

At the heart of the Centre’s activities is the organization of cultural events open to the public.

The aim of these events is to introduce visitors to a variety of traditions, while encouraging exchanges between cultures.

Among them, the annual Festival Est-Ouest: Une journée en Asie brings together artists, creators, thinkers, craftspeople, as well as players in the gastronomy and oenology sectors around meetings, exhibitions and performances celebrating the culture of a country or region of the Orient.

Seminars and intellectual events

The Center also organizes seminars and think tanks devoted to major cultural, philosophical and societal issues linking East and West.
These meetings address major themes such as :

culture and traditions
diplomacy and international relations
creation and the arts
literature
gastronomy

Artist residencies

The Center regularly welcomes artists in residence: musicians, writers, visual artists or designers, offering them an environment dedicated to creation.

These residencies enable artists to develop their projects while fostering interdisciplinary collaborations and exchanges with the public.