A look at what’s ahead for Culture Emulsion – the duo which helped introduce French culture to the UAE

Cécile Herman and Stéphane Brismontier have grown Culture Emulsion from a strictly francophone’s oasis in Dubai to a thriving arts hub that shares their national culture to an ever-wider audience. The duo talk to Afshan Ahmed about what’s next

For Culture Emulsion founders Cécile Herman and Stéphane Brismontier, success is measured by who attends their events.

A year back, the French residents of Dubai recall, the only people attending the productions – brought from France – were friends and family members.

Brismontier says Culture Emulsion, set up last year at Ductac to introduce French culture to UAE residents, now benefits from a more accessible programme.

“We joke about it,” he says. “The first shows we did, about 70 per cent of the audience were friends and family because they would feel obliged and went: ‘OK, we have to support them. Now, we only know 20 people of the 400 that turn up for the productions. That’s a good sign.”

Herman, who has been in the UAE for 11 years, says Dubai was a “desert” when it came to non-English language theatre. “This is where we found our niche because it wasn’t like people didn’t want it,” she says.

Original article by Afshan Ahmed

Continue reading at The National:

A look at what’s ahead for Culture Emulsion – the duo which helped introduce French culture to the UAE