The call for applicants for the second season of Villa Albertine residencies is open until January 20, 2022! From January to December 2023, Villa Albertine will be supporting one-to three-month long exploratory residencies across the United States.
Through the concept of exploratory residencies, Villa Albertine invites participants to explore a territory and to meet key local actors in order to nourish an original artistic or intellectual reflection which could not be developed otherwise. Such residencies are not intended as work behind closed doors but to act as probing field work that inspires and forges new bonds. The project can be either a new proposal conceived for Villa Albertine or research the resident has been conducting before they arrive in the US. In both cases, the raison d’être of the project is its relation to the place where it takes place. Meetings, visits, and events should contribute to the work carried out. The exploratory residency should also give rise to exchanges and relationships for the future; and help refine an approach and deepen reflection. Although it involves presenting something, in any form, its outcome does not need to be centered on the production of a specific work or format, as a production residency would.
Profile and project requirements
Villa Albertine is looking for creators, researchers, and culture professionals with an original research project they wish to pursue in the arts and the world of ideas that requires an immersive stay in the United States. These projects should necessarily relate to the challenges of the region to be explored and should open up active dialogue with local actors.
The professional disciplines considered include–but are certainly not limited to–the following: visual arts, architecture, design, arts and crafts, performing arts, street arts, music of all genres, cinema, television series, literature, non-fiction, graphic novels, children’s books, social sciences and humanities, museums, cultural heritage, art history, immersive experiences (XR), video games, podcasts, and culinary arts. Multi-disciplinary projects are also accepted.
Residency regions
There are two possible residency formats:
City-based residency: The resident carries out their project in a specific city, whether it is one of the ten cities where Villa Albertine has a permanent team, or another city.
Roving residency: A limited number of projects will be selected for a residency taking place across several locations in the United States.
The cities where Villa Albertine has a permanent branch are: Atlanta, GA; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Houston, TX; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; New York, NY; New Orleans, LA; San Francisco, CA; and Washington, DC.
Villa Albertine focuses in certain cities on specific themes, such as the environment in Miami, space exploration in Houston and Marfa, the renewal of cultural institutions in Washington DC, etc. The applicant can choose to explore these themes in the cities considered or other themes that would are relevant to their chosen location. Click here to see short presentations of each of these ten cities.
Support from Villa Albertine
Villa Albertine provides personalized support for each resident, as well as a multitude of possible places of residency.
Such support mainly comes from an 80-person team spread over ten cities, and systematic partnering with French and US institutions and organizations so that the resident is immersed from the outset in an ecosystem conducive to meetings, discoveries, and explorations. A schedule of meetups, visits, and events will be produced for each resident, in accordance with their project and needs. Each of Villa Albertine’s branches will support them by sharing its expert knowledge of the local artistic and cultural scene and its network of partners.
Villa Albertine will also support the resident in their analysis of material and logistical requirements for the project to be carried out properly. We 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). As a guide, this allowance amounts to $100 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 car rental);
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 is currently unable to host a resident who comes with his or her family.
Eligibility requirements
Applicants should justify that they:
- Have professional experience in their field of artistic or intellectual creation, proven through a dossier (less than ten pages long) that presents their career and their work;
Speak English well, as demonstrated in a short video (already produced and available online, or recorded for the occasion, in which case the applicant shall simply introduce themselves and say a few words about their project, in no more than three minutes), for US members of the selection committees. - Have the backing 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.) and should let Villa Albertine know about their interest in supporting the applicant in a letter addressed to Villa Albertine’s director. This partner does not have to commit to the project financially or in organizational terms but is required to contribute to the residency’s preparation, promotion, or post-residency phase. The structure of this phase can be simple (see below.)
- The candidate must be at least 21 years old before the planned date of departure for their residency.
Villa Albertine favors individual applications. Residencies in groups of two or three are accepted only when the research project justifies this exception.
The candidate should be in a position 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 in sprawling cities, such as Los Angeles or San Francisco.
French backing
Each applicant is asked to have their residency project backed by a French partner.
Depending on the case, this backing 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, 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.), 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 creators cannot use an organization they manage or created as support for their application. They should have the backing of a distinct partner.
- Applicants who are researchers or culture professionals may use their employing institution as their partner.
- Applicants may also use other French partners and US entities that could help develop the project (networking, provision of a workspace, etc.) as support for their application.
Selection criteria
The selection criteria are as follows:
- Quality of the applicant’s career: 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 research interests;
- Quality of the project: the project is clearly articulated and the artistic, cultural, and intellectual axes it develops are relevant;
- Relevance of the project in relation to the region concerned: 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.
Application process
Applications should be submitted by completing the following form on the dedicated platform, by January 20, 2022, at 11:59pm French time (UTC+1).
Application Form
- 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.
- Applicants should respond in English to the form’s questions.
- Any application that is incomplete or non-compliant will be rejected. Any untruthful declaration shall automatically render the application void.
- For applications that justify the participation of more than one person, a single form, containing the individual presentations of every participant in the project, must be submitted.
- The applicant shall answer the application questions in English.
The applicant may state several choices of region where they wish to spend their residency. They should also state how long they would like their residency to last (one, two, or three months). Depending on the project proposals it receives, Villa Albertine reserves the right to offer chosen applicants a residency in a region that is not their first choice. Similarly, Villa Albertine reserves the right to offer a residency duration shorter than the length of time requested by the applicant.
Any incomplete or noncompliant application will be deemed inadmissible. Any intentionally false declaration will automatically void the application.
Applications shall be examined in three phases: first, by experts in the field concerned; second, by a committee that will assess the project’s relevance in their city, especially regarding the region concerned; and third, in a final selection phase overseen by a panel of judges. This panel shall be chaired by the Director of Villa Albertine and will bring together 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 in June 2022.
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 city concerned (e.g. $100 per diem in New York City, amounting to $3,000 per month, which comfortably covers the cost of living there, as accommodation are already covered).
May I carry out a project in a city 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 the teams it has 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 for roving residencies each year, three or four anchored in the nine other cities, and six to eight roving 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.
May I come with one or more person or persons?
Only the person who submits the application can be a Villa Albertine resident, except in the case of a duo or cooperative of 3 people submitting an application for which the artistic or intellectual work concerned justifies such a grouping. Villa Albertine is currently unable to host a resident who comes with his or her family.
Can I apply if I already live in the US?
If a French partner backs your application and you meet other criteria of eligibility, you may submit an application. You should justify how Villa Albertine’s support would help you immerse yourself in a given region of the country where you already live.
VILLA ALBERTINE – PRESENTATION OF THE APPLICATION FORM.pdf
For additional questions
Please contact candidatures@villa-albertine.org
