French May Arts Festival 2026: Renaissance
The French May Arts Festival returns to Hong Kong from April to June 2026, under the theme “Re/naissance” (Rebirth or Renaissance). This celebration highlights renewal, creativity, and the dynamic ties between French heritage and the contemporary spirit of Hong Kong.
Since its inception in 1993, French May has blossomed into one of Asia’s largest French arts festivals, showcasing over 100 programs across visual arts, performing arts, cinema, gastronomy, and more.
Highlights of the 2026 Program
Youn Sun Nah feat. Bojan Z
1 May
Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall
World-class Korean jazz singer Nah Youn-sun possesses a uniquely versatile voice that instantly draws listeners into her world. She will perform in Hong Kong with Bojan Z, France’s celebrated Balkan jazz pianist. East meets West on a French-styled stage.
More details HERE.
Meet Mona Lisa & Portraying the Renaissance
1 May – 27 July
Hong Kong Heritage Museum
What if a painting could breathe? What if a smile could speak? This special exhibition combines Meet Mona Lisa, an immersive digital journey created by the Musée du Louvre together with Grand Palais Immersif, and Portraying the Renaissance, a gallery of Renaissance artworks curated for Hong Kong by Musée national de la Renaissance, the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, and the GrandPalaisRMN.
More details HERE.
Alexandre Dumas’ Three Musketeers: when East meets West
2 – 3 May
Hong Kong Jockey Club Amphitheatre
This ambitious production reimagines Henri Diamant-Berger’s 1921 silent film Les Trois Mousquetaires through a bold fusion of Western classical music and live performance. Schools of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts—Music, Drama, Film & Television—collaborate to bring this legendary tale to the stage, with French composer and conductor Béatrice Thiriet and filmmaker Jérôme Diamant-Berger, grandson of Henri Diamant-Berger.
More details HERE.
DJ Snake Live in Hong Kong
8 May
Central Harbourfront Event Space
French superstar DJ Snake makes his highly anticipated Hong Kong debut as the headline act of the French May Arts Festival’s inaugural Sino-French Electronic Music Show. Joining him are Chinese hip-hop group Higher Brothers (Masiwei, KnowKnow, PSY.P and Melo), three-time DMC China Champion DJ Wordy, and local collective Cantomania (DJ Fabsabs & DJ Steffunn).
More details HERE.
Dance Frog Tao
8 – 10 May
Studio Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre
Co-created by Hong Kong pioneer contemporary choreographer Miranda Chin and action artist Frog King (Kwok Mang-ho), Dance Frog Tao is a cross-disciplinary dance-theatre work rooted in local Hong Kong sensibilities. Inspired by Frog King’s creative journey, it weaves Chinese cultural imagery, inventive movement, action art, multimedia installations, and live music into an immersive space where “human, dance, sound, image, and painting” interlace — exploring self, others, and nature through the frog’s cycle of transformation.
More details HERE.
Human Figure in French Street Art From Lascaux to Today Talk and Workshop
10 May – 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Praya Art Space
What does it mean to leave a trace of yourself in the city? Curator Laure Raibaut and artist Aktin Dreiglo invite you to a talk and workshop exploring the human figure in French street art. From prehistoric silhouettes to urban portraits, discover how artists like JR, Jeff Aerosol, and Ernest Pignon-Ernest use the body as a visual declaration. After the talk, take part in a stencil workshop and experiment with creating your own street art.
More details HERE.
Réhahn, Being, 2023
Art Across Boundaries
14 – 18 May
Hong Kong Visual Arts Center
Organised by Children of the Mekong, this edition brings along a multicultural, mixed-media art exhibition featuring the works of 30 international and local artists.
More details HERE.
Raphaël Sévère
27 & 30 May
French clarinettist Raphaël Sévère returns to Hong Kong in May 2026 for two special performances with Hong Kong Sinfonietta: a solo recital titled A Rendezvous in Paris featuring works by Debussy, Poulenc and Saint-Saëns on 27 May at Hong Kong City Hall, followed by Nielsen’s Clarinet Concerto with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta under conductor Olari Elts on 30 May.
More details:
HKS Recital Series: Raphaël Sévère: A Rendezvous in Paris
Nielsen’s Clarinet Concerto
Scènes de la vie de Bohème
30 May
Jockey Club Auditorium, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Echoing the classic French novel by Henri Murger, based on the iconic opera by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini and sung in French, Scènes de la vie de Bohème is an intimate dramatic adaptation of Giacomo Puccini’s classic opera. Reduced to the four principal roles, this new version is designed to focus on the emotional ties between the two couples while telling a story of the Chinese cultural diaspora in Paris: a story of love, loss, art, poverty and the richness of life.
More details HERE.
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Check out the full programme on French May official website:
https://www.frenchmay.com/en/programmes/