Application deadline: September 30, 2025
Residency dates: November 3, 2025 – January 28, 2026
Location: Paris, France (Cité internationale des arts, Marais district)
Stipend: €1000/month net of taxes
Other support: Studio housing, research fees, round-trip travel, insurance, visa fees
About the Programme
The Regional Department for Cultural affairs of the Île-de-France region, the TRAM network, and the Cité internationale des arts have developed Contours, a research-based residency programme aimed at curators and/or art critics working and residing outside of France and its overseas departments, within the European Union. Initiated in 2024, the aim of this programme is to support research and to facilitate mobility and encounters with the French artistic and curatorial art scene, while also supporting projects that can benefit from the community environment provided by the Cité internationale des arts.
The partners are committed to supporting the curators by offering them dedicated support related to their research and providing them with professional networking opportunities in the Île-de-France region.
Following this call for applications and the reunion of a jury, two curators and/or art critics will be selected.
The Residency
From November 3rd of 2025 to January 28th of 2026, two curators/and or art critics will be welcomed and supported in the framework of a research-based residency programme.
They will benefit from:
• Professional support, networking opportunities, and encounters organized by the programme’s partners
• A live-in studio at the Cité internationale des arts in the Marais district, which consists of a single furnished space for both living and working
• A monthly living stipend of €1000 net of taxes
• Coverage of research fees and international round-trip travel to and from Paris airports, as well as travel insurance and visa fees (subject to a cap and upon presentation of proofs of payment).
A final report will be required at the end of the residency.
Eligibility and selection criteria
The programme has no age limit and is open to curators and/or art critics of all nationalities who live outside of France, within the European Union, and can justify at least five years of experience in curatorial practices (minimum of two exhibitions curated and two publications in referenced art media), looking to immerse themselves within the artistic community of the Cité internationale des arts and the Parisian art scene.
Collective applications are eligible and will result in the allocation of one live-in studio, the payment of one monthly stipend, one research and travel allowance.
The applications will be examined by a jury composed of representatives of the partners of the programme. In addition to assessing the professional background, the members of the jury will pay particular attention to the relevance of the application and the research project presented, the argumentation of the added value of the prospect of a research-based residency in the Île-de-France region and at the Cité internationale des arts, the proposed research and work programme and the contacts or partnerships already established with a view to developing the residency research project.
