Villa Medici Fellows Annual Selection 2027–2028 at the French Academy in Rome – Villa Medici

Location: Rome, Italy
Format: Full-time residential fellowship
Residency period: September 2027–August 2028
Duration: 12 months
Grant: €42,000 gross, paid as €3,500 per month
Accommodation: Provided free of charge
Relocation support: €2,000
Travel support: €250 towards return travel
Application deadline: 16 October 2026, 12:00 CET
Application language: French

The French Academy in Rome – Villa Medici is accepting applications for its 2027–2028 annual fellows programme.

The residency supports established French-speaking artists, writers and researchers undertaking 12 months of creation, experimentation or research in Rome.

About the Residency

The fellowship provides participants with the time, financial support and environment needed to develop an ambitious project within Villa Medici’s international community.

Applications are welcomed from practitioners working across literary and artistic creation, art and design practices, art history and theory, and the conservation and restoration of artworks or monuments.

Applicants should propose a detailed project explaining their research themes, working methods and reasons for undertaking the residency in Rome.

Eligible Disciplines

The competition welcomes applications across fields including:

• Visual arts;
• Literature;
• Film and screenwriting;
• Music and composition;
• Performing arts;
• Architecture and design;
• Arts and crafts;
• Art history and theory;
• Academic and artistic research; and
• Conservation and restoration.

There are no discipline-specific quotas.

Eligibility

Applicants must:

• Be aged 18 or over by the application deadline;
• Be established artists, authors, researchers or cultural practitioners;
• Speak French, regardless of nationality;
• Submit their application and project proposal in French;
• Propose a clearly developed creation, experimentation or research project;
• Be available for the full 12-month residency; and
• Not have previously been a Fellow of the French Academy in Rome.

Knowledge of Italian language and culture is recommended but not required.

Applicants may submit an individual or collaborative project. For selected group projects, each participant will receive an individual residency grant.

Only one application may be submitted by each candidate.

Residency Conditions

The fellowship requires full-time participation and continuous residence at Villa Medici.

Fellows may only leave Italy for limited periods during the programme and cannot undertake regular professional employment or another residency, fellowship or commitment that conflicts with the residency.

Each Fellow receives free accommodation. A private or shared workspace may also be allocated, depending on availability and the requirements of the project.

Residents have access to shared facilities including:

• The library;
• Woodworking facilities;
• A photographic laboratory; and
• Communal working and meeting spaces.

The grant includes the Fellow’s production costs, and no separate production budget is provided.

Selection

Applications are reviewed by a jury comprising the Director of the French Academy in Rome, a representative of the French Ministry of Culture’s Directorate-General for Artistic Creation and six appointed specialists.

Candidates should demonstrate:

• An established professional practice;
• A clearly conceived project;
• The relevance of undertaking the work at Villa Medici;
• The potential for artistic, literary or scholarly development; and
• The ability to contribute to the intellectual and creative community of the Academy.

About Villa Medici

Villa Medici is home to the French Academy in Rome, a public institution of the French Ministry of Culture.

Its annual fellows programme brings together artists, writers, researchers, historians and other practitioners for sustained periods of creation, experimentation and exchange in Rome.