Creating Spaces, Connecting Cultures
- Léa Caubert
- Jan 14
- 3 min read
A journey shaped by storytelling and shared imagination.
Some artists create works. Others create spaces. Spaces for dialogue, transmission, and encounters. Sylvie Joseph-Julien belongs to this second family. President and founder of Sjj Agency, she does not define herself as an artist in the traditional sense, but rather as a cultural bridge-builder, someone who connects languages, generations, and imaginations.
A vision that naturally resonates with the spirit of the FACD, where Sjj Agency will be taking part this year.
" My art is the art of connection"
Before founding her agency, Sylvie spent many years working within some of France’s most iconic cultural institutions. The Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Opéra Garnier. As a cultural guide, she accompanied countless visitors through these historic spaces, slowly realizing something essential. “I didn’t become an artist in the traditional sense,” she explains. “I became a creator of spaces, a builder of bridges between cultures, languages, and generations. My art is the art of connection.”
The Art of Creating Connections
Over time, her relationship with culture evolved. For Sylvie, culture is not meant to be admired from a distance. It comes alive through sharing. “I realized that culture truly exists when it is told,” she says, “when storytelling, education, and collective imagination open doors for people who might never have dared to walk through them on their own.” That realization marked a turning point.
Her work as a storyteller became, in itself, an artistic practice.
Through everything she does, Sylvie Joseph-Julien seeks to convey the joy of discovery. She celebrates diversity as a strength and dialogue as a creative force. Festivals, artist residencies, youth and educational programs… Each project led by Sjj Agency is designed as a welcoming and inclusive space.
“I want my work to express the joy of discovery, the beauty of diversity, and the power of dialogue,” she says. Her art is an invitation. “An invitation to laugh, to reflect, to ask questions, and to meet one another across cultural lines.”
A Vision Carried by Meaningful Projects
This philosophy runs through all her initiatives, each one designed to help people feel seen and valued. “I want every project to whisper: ‘You belong here. Your story matters. Let’s explore together.’” This commitment has shaped her long-standing engagement with francophone arts and literature, notably through the co-founding of the French-Belgian traveling comic arts festival Les Troubadours de la BD, followed by the creation of Les Troubadours de Littérature Jeunesse, dedicated to children, families, and educators. In 2021, her work was recognized with her appointment as a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalière de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) .
“A spirit of openness, curiosity, and joyful possibility”
Her participation in the FACD feels like a natural continuation of this journey. For Sylvie, the festival embodies “cultural exchange, artistic curiosity, and the celebration of voices from around the world.” It is a place where learning flows both ways. “Taking part in the FACD allows me to continue amplifying francophone arts and literature while learning from artists who are also shaping the future of culture,” she explains. “It’s a space where bridges can be built, and building bridges is my lifelong passion.”
FACD, a Natural Space for Cultural Exchange
At the FACD, Sylvie will present Comics 4 Climate, a project especially close to her heart. Through an exhibition and workshops, the initiative uses the playful and accessible language of comics to open conversations around climate change. “Comics make it possible to approach this topic with curiosity and creativity,” she notes, “and to spark dialogue about an issue that concerns us all.”
Beyond the project itself, what she hopes to share with FACD audiences is a spirit. “A spirit of openness, curiosity, and joyful possibility,” she says. It is the same spirit that led her to create Sjj Agency in the first place. “To build spaces where people can learn, laugh, and imagine new futures together.”
Through her presence at the FACD, Sylvie Joseph-Julien reminds us that art does not always take the form of an object or a performance. It can be a conversation, a shared experience, a moment of connection. A powerful and sensitive way to bring people together, and sometimes, simply an invitation to step through a door we never thought we would open.
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