On 1 January 2013, AFIJMA (Association of Innovative Jazz and Contemporary Music Festivals), founded in 1993, opened up to all organisations involved in disseminating jazz (festivals, national and state-sponsored venues, theatres, cultural centres and clubs) which share its objectives and values under the name AJC (Association Jazzé Croisé).
In line with the policy followed by AFIJMA for the last twenty years, AJC continues its commitment to the mobility of artists, the emergence of new talents and the creation of original projects, is becoming more heavily involved in finding new audiences all over the country and is boosting its involvement in the field of cooperation and international exchanges.
The new network is acutely aware that artistic and cultural education, digital technology, diversity and cross-cultural activities now represent priority challenges and is launching new projects on these essential topics straight away.
The programmes which AFIJMA has taken on over the last 20 years will be continued by AJC, with a focus on three areas:
National action: Setting up co-productions and creative tours, reflecting on the economics of productions, setting up French tours for new groups emerging in the regions (“Jazz Migration”).
International action: Invitations to foreign programmers, cooperative actions and international exchanges, organisation of international professional meetings.
Organization and structuring of the jazz sector: Active participation in the development of public policies for jazz, organisation of symposiums.
With the arrival of 25 new members, festivals but also state-sponsored and national venues, theatres, cultural centres and clubs, AJC has so far brought together nearly 65 French and European organisations which share its objectives and values, as laid down in its charter.
AJC is thus becoming the top European network for distributing and producing jazz and improvised music, with the potential annual involvement of more than 1.5 million spectators.
AJC wanted to focus on the issue of aesthetics at the heart of its collective project, because jazz, while sharing many values with art, contemporary or modern music, has a specific history, sociology and economy. From now on, AJC will be committed to the promotion and defence of jazz in all its diversity, in a spirit of solidarity amongst its members and in collaboration with all its professional partners.
AJC is immediately launching new programmes to support the mobility of artists, the emergence of new talents and the creation of original projects and will strengthen its commitment to finding new audiences all over the country, along with its involvement in the field of cooperation and international exchanges.
In order to provide concrete responses to the key challenges of artistic and cultural education, digital technology, equality, diversity and cross-cultural issues, AJC is also starting up new projects on these topics.
In this period of economic crisis and at a time when there is a threat to cultural exception, AJC will be a vigilant and attentive spokesperson and partner for the State, local authorities and European institutions in the defence of fragile artistic forms and all those who keep them alive.