Call for Applications: 2027 “Arts in the Age of AI”

This call is open to artists, intellectuals, and cultural professionals carrying out an original project related to artificial intelligence that requires an immersive stay in the United States.

Villa Albertine offers residents the opportunity to undertake a two-month research and exploratory residency in the U.S. location of their choice. The project must be rooted in a specific city or territory. Through this exploratory residency format, Villa Albertine invites participants to travel through and engage with a territory, meeting its key figures in order to enrich an artistic or intellectual inquiry that could not unfold without immersion in the United States. This type of residency is not designed for isolated studio work, but rather for field exploration that encourages inspiration and connections with local actors.

The call is open to candidates wishing to work on or with artificial intelligence, whose project requires a stay in the United States. For example, the residency may serve as a research ground for a project developed using artificial intelligence, in connection with an American ecosystem. It may also offer a candidate the opportunity to explore the impact of artificial intelligence within a specific U.S. context, possibly through a comparative lens with Europe or France. Regardless of the project’s form, the residency represents a unique opportunity to highlight expertise and foster new French-American collaboration.

This call is not limited to French or French-speaking applicants. It is open to any creator, researcher, or cultural professional who meets the eligibility criteria listed below — in particular, the requirement of being supported by a French partner organization.

The proposed project may be based on a new concept specifically developed for Villa Albertine or continue an existing line of research that would take on a unique dimension within this context. In both cases, the project’s connection to its chosen location is what gives it significance.

Applicants must therefore anchor their residency in a specific city or territory that is meaningful in relation to the themes they wish to explore. The city or territory must be clearly identified. The call is not open to itinerant projects involving travel across multiple U.S. states.

The primary goal of the residency is the artistic development of the resident’s project. While the residency may generate economic opportunities beneficial to the project or the resident’s career, commercial pursuits cannot constitute the project’s main purpose.

The selected residents will receive support from the Villa Albertine branch corresponding to their chosen territory, among the ten U.S. cities where Villa Albertine has a presence.

The cities where Villa Albertine maintains a permanent presence include Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. For example, a residency taking place in Seattle would fall under the responsibility of Villa Albertine in San Francisco.

Two candidates will be selected in California, and two others in other parts of the United States.

Villa Albertine provides bespoke support, tailored to the expectations and profile of each resident.

This support is made possible by a team of 80 staff members across 10 U.S. cities, and through partnerships with both French and American institutions. These networks ensure that residents are immediately immersed in an ecosystem that fosters exchanges, discoveries, and critical inquiry.

The relevant Villa Albertine branch will assist the resident by sharing its knowledge of the local artistic and cultural scene and connecting them with its network of partners. Depending on the residents’ proposed areas of exploration, preliminary research will be conducted to identify the most relevant contacts within the selected territory.

A lineup of meetings and visits will be organized for each resident according to their project and specific needs. Villa Albertine will also assist the resident in assessing the logistical requirements necessary for the successful completion of their project.

Alongside this support, the residency model also emphasizes the initiative and autonomy of participants—qualities essential for making the most of field-based research experience.

Villa Albertine will cover the following travel and living expenses related to the residency, including:

• A daily stipend, intended to cover living expenses (meals, local transportation, etc.). As a reference, this stipend is $100 per day in Washington, D.C.
• International travel
• Housing
• Car rental, where necessary (in geographically dispersed cities or when required by the project)
• Health, liability, and repatriation insurance

These expenses are paid directly by Villa Albertine. Except for the daily stipend, they are not provided as a lump-sum grant.

Villa Albertine cannot commit to covering any expenses other than the travel and living costs listed above. If the applicant identifies specific needs (technical equipment, workspace, etc.), they must present solutions demonstrating the project’s feasibility (e.g., partnerships, additional financial support).

This call is open to individual applicants only. Duo or group applications will not be accepted under this program.

Villa Albertine encourages residencies without accompanying guests (family members or others not involved in the project). However, in cases where accompaniment is necessary—such as a parent traveling with dependent child(ren) or a person with a disability requiring assistance—these circumstances will be considered to identify suitable housing. Accompanying guests will not receive residency support or coverage of their travel and living expenses.

Each applicant is required to involve a French partner, based in France, in their residency project. Depending on the case, the partner’s support may take one of three forms:

• Residency Project Design: Assistance with drafting the residency project, identifying resources and contacts that could help the applicant, etc.
• Promotion of the Residency: Communication on social media, creation of content related to the residency (articles, podcasts, videos, etc.)
• Post-Residency Activities: Organizing a presentation in France of the work carried out in the United States (lecture, meeting with professionals, etc.), supporting the further development of the artistic or intellectual project.

Partners are not required to provide financial support for the residency.

Any public or private organization under French law and based in France may serve as a partner. The organization cannot be one that the applicant directs or has founded, but it may be the organization where the applicant is employed or another distinct partner.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to identify and select the partner most relevant to their project. They may rely on pre-existing partnerships or initiate collaborations suited to the specific needs of the project. The goal is to foster connections between the French cultural and artistic ecosystem, including the partner, and the American ecosystem in which the resident will be immersed during the residency.

Applicants may also draw on additional French partners as well as American organizations that could support the project’s development (rehearsal studios, creative workshops, networking opportunities, etc.).

For reference, the list of partners involved in past residencies can be found on the residents’ pages on Villa Albertine’s website.

I. Eligibility Criteria 

Applicants must demonstrate:

• Professional practice in the fields of artistic and intellectual creation, explaining their connection to artificial intelligence, through the submission of a career portfolio of no more than 10 pages.
• Proficiency in English, through the submission of a short video presenting their background and project, lasting no more than 3 minutes (no editing is required; a simple face-to-camera video is sufficient, and the applicant should not read from a script).
• Involvement of a French partner in the residency project, which may be any public or private French organization based in France (cultural institution, association, publishing house, company in the creative and cultural industries, etc.). The partner must express their interest in supporting the applicant through a letter (submitted in PDF format) addressed to Mohamed Bouabdallah, Cultural Counselor of France and Director of Villa Albertine.
• Applicants must be over 21 years old before the planned start date of their residency.

II. Selection Criteria

Applications will be evaluated based on:

• The applicant’s career: the applicant practices their artistic or intellectual work professionally, is recognized by peers, and the proposed Villa project follows logically from their previous work.
• Quality of the project: the project is clearly defined, and its artistic, cultural, and intellectual dimensions are relevant.
• Territorial anchoring: the project demonstrates a strong connection to local dynamics and challenges, and requires the applicant’s presence in the United States, specifically in the chosen territory.
• Feasibility of the project: Villa Albertine reserves the right to decline projects it cannot support.

Additionally, applicants must be able to adapt to the specific conditions of the territory where they plan to undertake their residency. For example, it is strongly recommended to hold a driver’s license for residencies in sprawling cities such as Los Angeles.

Applications must be submitted through the platform by January 29, 2026 (Paris time) via this link.

All required documents must be completed or uploaded on the dedicated platform. Any incomplete or non-compliant application, and/or any application submitted through other channels, will be considered ineligible. Any false statement will automatically result in the disqualification of the application. Each applicant may submit only one application per season for the Arts in the Age of AI call.

Since applications are reviewed by English-speaking experts, applicants must respond in English to questions on the form that require written responses.

Applicants are asked to indicate the desired territory and duration of their residency (minimum one month, maximum two months). Villa Albertine reserves the right to propose a shorter residency duration than initially requested by the applicant, or an adapted itinerary to ensure the project’s feasibility.

Application Deadline: January 29, 2026, 11:59 PM (French time).

It is strongly recommended not to wait until the deadline to submit your application on the platform, to avoid last-minute difficulties. Application files can be created in advance and completed in several stages before final submission.

Villa Albertine jury’s decisions are final and not subject to appeal. The selected residents will be announced in mid-June 2026.