From Then to Now: Resident Success Stories Over Five Years
Art & Design, Books & Ideas, Film & TV, Museums & Heritage, Music, New Media, Performing Arts
(c) Nicolas Floch
In honor of the fifth anniversary of Villa Albertine’s residencies, explore a special booklet encompassing some of the most groundbreaking projects made possible by residents’ immersive stays in the U.S.
Created in 2021, Villa Albertine offers one-of-a-kind exploratory residencies across the United States. Through this program, it support artists and intellectuals from France and the Francophone world as they draw inspiration from transformative immersive experiences in the US.
Every year, nearly 60 talented creators embark on these exploratory journeys throughout the United States. Chosen from among approximately 900 annual applicants across 15 disciplines (visual arts, performing arts, new media, and more) by an international jury, our residents reflect the excellence, diversity, and dynamism of contemporary French culture.
By Villa Albertine’s fifth anniversary season in 2026, more than 300 residents will have been hosted across 60 US locations, from New York to Alaska, South Dakota to Los Angeles, building an international network of creative and intellectual exchange. Villa Albertine’s offices in 10 US cities provide residents with both the structure and flexibility needed to deeply engage with the actors and institutions in the territories in which they pursue specific creative projects that bring fresh perspectives to today’s most pressing global issues.
Rooted in a longstanding tradition of French American cultural dialogue, Villa Albertine reinvents the residency as a platform for contemporary creation, transatlantic collaborations, and people-to-people dialogue.
From (LA)Horde’s deep dive into Los Angeles’ jumpstyle scene to Mathieu Pradat’s immersive storytelling installation at the Museum of Science in Boston, this booklet highlights the tangible outcomes and success stories of Villa Albertine’s residents—showcasing the program’s lasting impact and meaningful contributions.
Scroll down to discover and download the full booklet!
What’s next for Villa Albertine’s residency program? Learn more about our new cohort of 2026 residents here.
Acknowledgements
Villa Albertine’s residencies have been made possible, in partnership with Albertine Foundation, through the leadership support of Societe Generale Corporate Foundation, with the generous contributions of the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation, the Recanati-Kaplan Foundation, Ardian, AXA, the ENGIE Corporate Foundation, the Florence Gould Endowment for Literary Exchange, the Académie des Beaux-Arts, AWARE, ADIAF, Marfret and the Fonds de Dotation Banque Transatlantique.
We also wish to warmly acknowledge several partners whose past support contributed significantly to the success of our residency programs, and who, in many cases, continue to support Villa Albertine through other initiatives: the Ford Foundation, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Art Explora Foundation, the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC), UniFrance, the FrenchAmerican Cultural Society, Diptyque, and the Fondation Louis Roederer.
Our heartfelt thanks goes out to our individual supporters as well, whose trust and generosity continue to shape Villa Albertine’s mission: Daphne Recanati-Kaplan and Thomas S. Kaplan, Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis, Béatrice Stern, Fidji Simo, Sana Sabbagh, Elizabeth and Jean-Marie Eveillard, Stephan Haimo and Veronica Bulgari, Michel David-Weill, remembered with deep gratitude, and Hélène David-Weill, Claude Wasserstein and Mamadou Abou and Catherine Sarr.
In partnership with
Societe Generale Corporate Foundation
The corporate Societe Generale Foundation contributes to building a more inclusive and sustainable society by supporting initiatives in the fields of education, culture, and the environment that strengthen social cohesion. Its ambition is to help its partners grow their projects and their positive impact on society in these areas. Driven by a spirit of entrepreneurship, it supports general interest organisations and cultural institutions that implement projects with high potential for impact, whether they are emerging initiatives or large-scale endeavors. It operates nationally and regionally in France, and also supports multi-country or internationally impactful projects. For more information, visit https://fondation.societegenerale.com/en
Bettencourt Schueller Foundation
Bettencourt Schueller Foundation strives to embody the will of a family, driven by the spirit of enterprise and awareness of its social role, to reveal talents and help them thrive, in three fields that contribute concretely to the common good: life sciences, the arts and solidarity. Both a family foundation and recognized as a public utility since its creation in 1987, the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation intends to give wings to talent to contribute to the success and influence of France.
Recanati-Kaplan Foundation
Created in 2010 by Thomas S. Kaplan and Daphne Recanati-Kaplan, the Recanati-Kaplan Foundation supports the development of initiatives of excellence in four areas: the protection of our biodiversity; research in medical sciences; the teaching of history and philosophy; and cultural, artistic, and intellectual bridge-building between the Arab world, France and the United States.
Ardian
Ardian is a world-leading private investment house, managing or advising $150bn of assets on behalf of more than 1,400 clients globally. Our broad expertise, spanning Private Equity, Real Assets and Credit, enables us to offer a wide range of investment opportunities and respond flexibly to our clients’ differing needs. Through Ardian Customized Solutions we create bespoke portfolios that allow institutional clients to specify the precise mix of assets they require and to gain access to funds managed by leading third-party sponsors. Private Wealth Solutions offers dedicated services and access solutions for private banks, family offices and private institutional investors worldwide. Ardian is majority-owned by its employees and places great emphasis on developing its people and fostering a collaborative culture based on collective intelligence. Our1,000+ employees, spread across 16 offices in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Middle East are strongly committed to the principles of Responsible Investment and are determined to make finance a force for good in society. Our goal is to deliver excellent investment performance combined with high ethical standards and social responsibility. At Ardian we invest all of ourselves in building companies that last.
AXA
The AXA Group is a worldwide leader in insurance and asset management, with 154,000 employees serving more than 95 million clients in 50 countries. In 2024, IFRS17 revenues amounted to Euro 110.3 billion and IFRS17 underlying earnings to Euro 8.1 billion. AXA had Euro 983 billion in assets under management, including assets managed on behalf of third parties, as of December 31, 2024.
The AXA ordinary share is listed on compartment A of Euronext Paris under the ticker symbol CS (ISN FR 0000120628 – Bloomberg: CS FP – Reuters: AXAF.PA). AXA’s American Depository Share is also quoted on the OTC QX platform under the ticker symbol AXAHY.
The AXA Group is included in the main international SRI indexes, such as Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and FTSE4GOOD.
It is a founding member of the UN Environment Programme’s Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) Principles for Sustainable Insurance and a signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment.
This press release and the regulated information made public by AXA pursuant to article L. 451-1-2 of the French Monetary and Financial Code and articles 222-1 et seq. of the Autorité des marchés financiers’ General Regulation are available on the AXA Group website (axa.com).
Engie Foundation
Florence Gould Foundation
The Florence Gould Foundation is devoted to French-American exchange and friendship. It has provided critical and longstanding support to enable the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and its partner FACE Foundation to foster French-American exchange across disciplines and make the very best of French and francophone culture accessible to diverse communities across the United States. The Florence Gould Writers’ Residency at Villa Albertine will create exceptional and enduring opportunities for literary creation for the most promising and innovative French and Francophone authors.
L’Académie des beaux-arts
The Académie des beaux-arts is one of the 5 academies of the Institut de France. An institution under the protection of the President of the Republic, with 67 members, 16 foreign associate members and 67 correspondents, it protects France’s cultural heritage and encourages artistic creation in all its forms by supporting numerous artists and associations through the organization of competitions, the awarding of prizes, the financing of artists’ residencies and the granting of subsidies for artistic projects and events. As a consultative body to public authorities, the Académie des beaux-arts is also active in reflection on artistic issues. It also maintains an active policy of partnerships with a large network of cultural institutions and museums. To carry out these missions, the Académie des beaux-arts manages its assets, which include donations and bequests, as well as major cultural sites such as the Musée Marmottan Monet (Paris) and the Villa and Bibliothèque Marmottan (Boulogne-Billancourt), the House and gardens of Claude Monet (Giverny), the Villa and gardens of Ephrussi de Rothschild (Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat), the Maison-atelier Lurçat (Paris), the Villa Dufraine (Chars), the Appartement d’Auguste Perret (Paris), and the Galerie Vivienne (Paris), of which it is co-owner.
AWARE
AWARE: Archives of Women Artists, Research and Exhibitions is a non-profit organisation, co-founded in 2014 by Camille Morineau, art historian and specialist in the history of women artists. To counter the underrepresentation of women in the art world, AWARE seeks to rebalance the presence of women artists by giving them more visibility through the publication of free resources. The bilingual French/English website provides more than 900 biographies for women artists from the 19th and 20th centuries as well as articles and interviews written by researchers and curators from around the world.
ADIAF
The Association for the International Diffusion of French Art brings together 300 collectors of modern art who are fully committed to the creativity quest. It was created in 1994 with the ambition to highlight the flourishing creativity of the French artistic scene and to promote the French art scene throughout the world. ADIAF has created in 2000 the Prix Marcel Duchamp which is awarded annually to one among four shortlisted artists either born or residing in France and working in the field of visual arts. Organized since its founding in partnership with the Centre Pompidou, this seminal art Prize is considered today one of the most relevant vectors of information on contemporary art in France.
MARFRET
MARFRET: AT THE HEART OF GLOBAL TRADE
Founded in 1951, the maritime company MARFRET specializes in international freight transport. Operating nine regular shipping lines along the north/south axis, it serves five major geographical areas: the Mediterranean, North Atlantic, Caribbean, Amazon, and South Pacific, with a significant presence in the French overseas territories.
MARFRET also has subsidiaries in river transport, handling, and warehousing, providing an integrated and multimodal door-to-door service.
The company has established a long tradition of hosting artists in residence, both aboard its ships and in its onshore offices. MARFRET, which owns seven vessels, likes to define itself as an “Ar(t)mateur.”
The Fonds de Dotation Transatlantique
The Fonds de Dotation Transatlantique is the first endowment fund created by a French bank and sheltering philanthropic funds for individuals and corporations. Since its creation in 2012 it collected more than 20 million € and funded over 700 projects in social, health, education and culture areas.
In 2021, the sheltered fund Albertine Foundation France was created to collect donations in France and support activities that promote French culture or language, strengthen ties between France and the United States, and foster the arts and cultural exchanges between these two countries.
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is an independent organization working to address inequality and build a future grounded in justice. For more than 85 years, it has supported visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. Today, with an endowment of $16 billion, the foundation has headquarters in New York and 10 regional offices across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Cité de la musique – Philharmonie de Paris
Located in the heart of the Parc de la Villette in northeastern Paris, the Cité de la Musique – Philharmonie de Paris is a unique musical complex that attracts nearly 1.5 million visitors each year.
It offers an ambitious and eclectic program (450 concerts and 2 to 3 temporary exhibitions per year), while fully embracing its social and societal role. The institution aims to make its programming accessible to all audiences, regardless of age, social background, or geographical origin. It also strives to make gender equality, diversity, and eco-responsibility integral parts of its mission. In this spirit, it created the Maestra Conducting Competition with the Paris Mozart Orchestra and develops numerous initiatives across the country in partnership with local communities, such as the Démos children’s orchestra project. The Philharmonie also leads international cooperation and partnership projects with cultural institutions in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Gulf states, and various European nations.
Art Explora
The brainchild of entrepreneur and philanthropist Frédéric Jousset, the Art Explora Foun-dation, which launched in November 2019, aims to close the cultural divide through a series of initiatives in France and abroad, drawing on new technologies and mobile systems open to everyone. It seeks to connect works with their audiences and to support new creation and innovation. The Foundation is supporting eight residencies for the inaugural season of Villa Albertine.
Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC)
Created in 1946, the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC) is a public administrative organization, set up as a separate and financially independent entity which comes under the authority of the French ministry of culture and communication. Its principal missions are : support for the film, broadcast, video, video games, immersive productions and technical industries; promotion of film and television for distribution to all audiences and preservation and development of the film heritage.
UniFrance
Founded in 1949 and strengthened thanks to its merger with TV France International in 2021, UniFrance is the organisation responsible for promoting French cinema and TV content worldwide.
Located in Paris, UniFrance employs around 50 staff members, as well as representatives based in the U.S., in China, and soon in Japan. The organisation currently brings together more than 1,000 French cinema and TV content professionals (producers, filmmaking talents, agents, sales companies, etc.) working together to promote French films and TV programmes among foreign audiences, industry executives and media.
French American Cultural Society (FACS)
The French American Cultural Society (FACS) is a non-profit organization 501(c)3 based in San Francisco which supports, produces and co-produces innovative French and American cultural and educational projects in the Bay Area and beyond.
Diptyque
In the bohemian neighborhood of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the artistic, intellectual and festive heart of 1960s Paris, a creative adventure was born from the meeting of three multidisciplinary artists united by their insatiable curiosity and shared sense of beauty.
Mixing reverie and reality, nature and art, Diptyque opens the doors to a timeless, fragrant, abundant world, where scents, dancing letters, illustrations and captivating patterns evoke places loved and moments shared. Where creations take shape as escapes where the imagination wanders.
Louis Roederer Foundation
The Louis Roederer Foundation, presided by Frédéric Rouzaud, supports contemporary artistic creation and the transmission of knowledge.
Founded in 2011, the Foundation accompanies ambitious cultural initiatives led by renowned institutions both in France and abroad. It provides steadfast support to the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Jeu de Paume in Paris, the French Academy in Rome – Villa Medici, and the Villa Albertine in the United States.
Through the Discovery Award at the Rencontres d’Arles Photography Festival, the Revelation Prize at the Semaine de la Critique of Cannes Film Festival, as well as its carte blanche collaboration with Le Fresnoy, the Louis Roederer Foundation actively fosters the emergence of talented artists.
With the Photographic Research Grant from the Bibliothèque nationale de France, its support for international researchers at the Institute for Ideas & Imagination in Paris, and its global Thinking Sustainability programme, the Foundation contributes to a better understanding of the world and enhanced mutual respect.
The Foundation also engages in the viticultural domains of the Roederer Collection by initiating cultural actions specific to each site. To perfect its commitment to the arts, the Louis Roederer Foundation is building its own collection of works by emerging and established artists, whether represented or not, and offers carte blanche collaborations in various artistic fields.