Call for Applications: Villa Albertine 2025 Season

The call for applications for Villa Albertine’s 2025 residency season is open until February 1, 2024. From January to December 2025, Villa Albertine will support 50 one-to-three-month-long exploratory residencies across the United States. These residences will be primarily anchored in a single city with the option of multi-city stays for select projects.

Through the concept of exploratory residencies, Villa Albertine invites participants to explore a territory and to meet key local actors in order to enrich an original artistic or intellectual reflection which could not be developed otherwise. Such residencies are not intended to be conducted behind closed doors but rather act as probing field work that inspires and forges new bonds.

The project can either be a new proposal conceived for Villa Albertine or a continuation of research that the applicant has conducted before arriving in the US. In both cases, the raison d’être of the project is its relation to  the location of the residency. Meetings, events, and visits should contribute to the work carried out. The exploratory residency should also inspire exchanges and relationships for the future and help refine an approach and deepen reflection. Although the residency involves presenting something, in a particular form, it does not have to be centered on a specific deliverable, notably material, as would be the case for a production residency.

This program is designed and managed by Villa Albertine, a French institution in the United States  dedicated to the arts and ideas, created by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, with the support of the French Ministry of Culture.

The program is supported by Société Générale, a major sponsor of Villa Albertine residencies.

Program objectives and profiles sought

Villa Albertine is looking for creators, researchers, and culture professionals with an original research project they wish to pursue in the field of arts or ideas that requires an immersive stay in the United States. The project should relate to the challenges of the territory explored and should initiate active dialogue with local actors. 

The professional disciplines considered include but are certainly not limited to the following: visual arts, architecture, performing arts, street arts, music (all aesthetics except classical music, which is in a separate call for applications), cinema, television series, literature, graphic novels, children’s literature, social sciences and humanities, museology, cultural heritage, art history, digital creation (immersive experiences, video games and other forms related to new technologies from artificial intelligence to virtual reality), podcasts, culinary arts, etc. Multi-disciplinary projects are also welcomed. 

Villa Albertine favors individual applications. Collective applications of groups of two or three candidates are accepted only when the research project justifies this exception.

The call is not limited to French or French-speaking people but open to any creator, researcher, or cultural professional who meets the selection criteria mentioned below, including the support of a French partner.

NB:
Due to the specificity of the support offered, the disciplines of Crafts & Design and Classical Music are the subject of separate calls for applications. Applicants from these disciplines are invited to refer to the following links:

• Crafts & Design call
• Classical Music call

10 Villa branches supporting residences anchored in a territory

This map is available here.

Applicants are invited to propose a residency anchored in a city or a region in the United States. They can choose one of the ten cities where the Villa has a permanent office (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, New Orleans, San Francisco and Washington DC), or even another city or  territory. 

Applicants may also propose a traveling residency, which is a multi-step residency in different regions or cities of the United States. It should be noted, however, that a very limited number of itinerant projects will be selected.

Candidates are asked to set their residency in a territory that corresponds to the themes they wish to explore. They will be supported by the Villa Albertine’s related branch to the area concerned. For example, a residency in Seattle would be assigned to Villa Albertine in San Francisco.

Support from Villa Albertine

Villa Albertine provides personalized support for each resident, as well as a multitude of possible residency locations. 

Such support mainly comes from an 80-person team spread across ten cities, and systematic partnering with French and US institutions and organizations so that the resident is immersed in an ecosystem conducive to meetings, discoveries, and explorations. A schedule of meetings, visits, and events will be developed for each resident, in accordance with their project and needs. The appropriate Villa Albertine branch will support residents by sharing its expert knowledge of the local artistic and cultural scene and its network of partners. 

Villa Albertine will also support residents in their analysis of material and logistical requirements to best conduct the projects. It will organize the resident’s arrival and stay and will cover related travel costs and living expenses. This includes: 

• residency allowance covering everyday expenses (meals, local transport, etc.).  Example: this allowance amounts to $110 per diem in New York City; 
• international and domestic travel costs; 
• accommodations; 
• car rental (in sprawling cities or if the nature of the project requires a car); 
• health, public liability, and repatriation insurance.  

Villa Albertine cannot commit to covering expenses other than the aforementioned travel costs and living expenses. If the applicant identifies specific needs (technical, material, workspace, etc.), they should present solutions to demonstrate the project’s viability (partnerships, extra financial support, etc.).

Villa Albertine’s framework is organized to support individual residences (not including family members or other close relatives who would not be part of the project). In the case where this accompaniment would be necessary (a parent with dependent child(ren)), such a situation could be considered in the organization of the residency by searching for adapted housing.

French partnerships

Each applicant is asked to have their residency project supported by a French partner. Depending on the case, this support can take one of three forms: 

• Conception of the residency project: assistance in writing the residency presentation, finding resources and contacts that could help the applicant, etc.  
• Promotion of the residency: communication on social media, or content creation about the residency (articles, podcasts, videos, etc.);
• Post-residency follow-up: phase in France spent presenting the work carried out in the United States (conference, meet-up with professionals, etc.), or help in developing an artistic or intellectual project.

These partners are not asked to contribute financially to the residency. 

For candidates who are not eligible for French social security benefits and for non-French applicants who live in countries that are not part of the US Visa Waiver Program, the French partner must sign an agreement with Villa Albertine to ensure that administration regarding the residency is properly managed and that the procedures required for the candidate to enter the US have been followed. 

Any public or private entity under French law, based in France, may be a partner. 

Applicants who are artists cannot use an organization they manage or created to support their application. They should have the backing of a distinct partner. 

For applicants, who are researchers or culture professionals, this structure cannot be an organization that the candidate heads or has created but they may use the institution where they are employed as their partner.

In addition to the main French partner, applicants may also use other French partners and US entities that could help develop the project (e.g. networking, provision of a workspace, etc.) to  support their application. 

Selection criteria

Regarding eligibility requirements, applicants should justify that they: 

• have professional experience in their field of artistic or intellectual creation, demonstrated through a CV or dossier (less than ten pages long) that presents their career and their work; 
• speak fluent English, proven by sending a short, three-minute (max) introductory video of their career and project. The video is not expected to be edited but rather should be a simple video shot in front of the camera in which the candidate does not read from a text;
• have the support of a French partner associated with the residency project, which can be any public or private French entity (a cultural institution, an organization, a publishing house, a firm in a creative and cultural industry, etc.). The chosen organization should inform Villa Albertine of their interest in supporting the applicant in a letter addressed to Judith Roze, Deputy Director of Villa Albertine.

The candidate must be at least 21 years old before the planned date of departure for their residency.

The selection criteria are as follows:

• quality of the applicant’s career: the manner in which the applicant carries out their artistic or intellectual practice professionally; they are recognized by their peers; their project for Villa Albertine is a logical continuation of their work;
• quality of the project: the project is clearly articulated and the artistic, cultural, and intellectual axes it develops are relevant and have a strong link with the local ecosystem;
• relevance of the project in relation to the residency location: the project is strongly tied to local dynamics and challenges and requires the applicant to travel to the United States;
• feasibility of the project: Villa Albertine reserves the right to not host projects it cannot properly support.

The candidate should be able to adapt to any regional restrictions where they plan on spending their residency. For example, it is strongly recommended that they have a driver’s license if they plan to work in sprawling cities, such as Los Angeles. 

Application process

Applications should be submitted by February 1, 2024, at 11:59pm French time (UTC+1), by completing the following form:

Apply here

It is strongly recommended not to wait until this deadline, in order to avoid possible congestion on the platform.

An applicant may only submit one application per season.

Applications can be revised at any time before the closing date of the call for applications. Once submitted, the application cannot be further edited.

For applications that require the participation of several people, only one application must be submitted. Each participant must present themselves in the same form.

Since the applications are also examined by English-speaking experts, the candidate must answer any questions in English that require a written response.  

The candidate should mention the territory and the desired duration of the residency (one, two or three months). The Villa reserves the right to propose a shorter residency period than that initially indicated by the candidate, or even to adapt the itinerary to make the project more feasible.  

Any incomplete or noncompliant application will be deemed inadmissible. Any intentionally false declaration will automatically render the application void.

Applications will be examined in three phases: first, by experts in the specific field; second, by a committee that will assess the project’s relevance to their city and the respective region; and third, in a final selection phase overseen by a panel of judges. This panel shall be chosen by a jury of qualified French and US experts. 

The panel of judges is sovereign; it does not have to justify its decisions to applicants. 

The successful applicants will be announced at the end of May 2024. 

Villa Albertine’s current calls for applications

Alongside this general call, Villa Albertine is launching two calls for applications for residencies in specific disciplines in 2025:

• Crafts and Design call [open from November 22, 2023 to February 1, 2024, for a residency of one to three months during 2025].
• Classical music call [open from November 22, 2023 to February 1, 2024, for a residency of one to three months during 2025].

For your reference, two other calls are currently open for thematic residencies during 2024:

• Recanati-Kaplan call [open from November 13, 2023 to December 31, 2023, for a 2-month residency in autumn 2024].
• “Inhabiting the Desert”: for a collective residency in Marfa, Texas [open from November 13, 2023 to December 31, 2023, for a one-month-long residency in autumn 2024].

FAQ

Are residents paid? 
Villa Albertine operates under the aegis of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs. It may therefore grant nontaxable residency allowances. These will be adjusted in accordance with the cost of living in the cities concerned (e.g. $110 per diem in New York City, amounting to $3,300 per month), with accommodations already being covered separately. 

May I carry out a project in a city or territory that is not among the ten cities where Villa Albertine is based? 
Yes, you may. Please state on the form the city or cities you have in mind. 

Are there quotas per city or residency type? 
Villa Albertine’s hosting capacity mainly depends on its teams in the US, which are spread out over ten cities and coordinated from New York. In this regard, it can host six to eight residents in New York each year, three or four anchored in the nine other cities, and six to eight traveling residencies. Given the potentially high number of applicants for a city like New York, it is recommended that you consider different options for your project. 
In all cases, the first choice of city should be stated with a specific justification. 
You can consult the jury’s report which includes statistics on the projects submitted in the 2024 calls for applications.  

May I come with one or more people? 
Only the individual who has applied may come to the residency, except for applications submitted  by groups of two or three when the artistic or intellectual work justifies it. If the arrival of a family member or caregiver is necessary, Villa Albertine will reserve suitable accommodation.

Can I apply if I already live in the US? 
If a French partner supports your application and you meet other criteria for eligibility, you may apply. You should justify how Villa Albertine’s support would help you immerse yourself in a given region of your home country.

Can I do the residence in several stays? 
Villa Albertine proposes residences for a single stay, however, if it were necessary from a family point of view or for an imperative reason, Villa Albertine will consider the possibility of a residency between two stays.

I would like to go to several cities that depend on the same branch of Villa Albertine (e.g. Los Angeles and Las Vegas). Is this considered a traveling residency? 
Yes, as long as the residency does not take place in a fixed location, it is considered to be traveling. 

How many people applied last year? How many did you select? 
To find all the information about the 2024 call for applications, selection process, and statistics, please refer to the online jury report via this link.

Can an institution of the French cultural network based outside France (e.g. Alliance française, Institut français) be my partner? 
No, the French partner organization must be based in France. 

I’m a craftsman and/or designer and would like to apply for a 2025 residency with at Villa Albertine. Which call should I respond to?
You must fill in your application form for the thematic Crafts and Design call via this link.

I’m a classical musician or classical music professional and I’d like to apply for a 2025 residency at Villa Albertine. How do I apply?
You must fill in your application form for the Classical Music thematic call via this link.

Any other questions?
Please contact candidatures@villa-albertine.org

Villa Albertine is organizing an information session about the call (in French) on December 7, 2023 at 6pm (France) on Zoom. You can register by clicking here.