<p>From Montmartre to a nature reserve, here are the top spots</p>

Soizic Pineau

Where are the best artist residencies in France?

<p>‘We’re fighting for the word “residence” to be used in the right way, so that it corresponds to a framework, assistance, and financial aid for artists,’ explains Elise Jouvancy, the head of Arts en Résidence. This network brings together some 40 different organizations across France and identifies good practice. Based in Rennes, since 2010, they have been working to write charters and start discussions with public authorities to formalize certain elements, such as drawing up contracts between artists and their host organizations, or making sure that artists are remunerated.</p><p>The network is selective rather than comprehensive, enabling it to stay focused in a crowded field. There are more than 200 artists’ residencies listed, and there are as many different types of residency as there are structures. Residencies represent a sort of economy and form of recognition for artists, but they are also important as opportunities to make work and some in particular stand out for their ability to create a framework that supports artistic creation.</p>

<p>They can be in the mountains, like Les Capucins, in the little town of Embrun in the Hautes-Alpes, or in a natural park in France’s eastern region of Lorraine, at the contemporary art center La Synagogue de Delme. ‘When you’re there, you’re far away from everything: You have storks, the pond, and the forest. Artists take advantage of being totally immersed in a protected, natural environment, and draw inspiration from it, whatever project they’re working on. That’s what we’re able to offer,’ explains Benoît Lamy de la Chapelle, the director in Delme. This residency is considered a launchpad for emerging artists’ careers. In 2015, Julien Creuzet, who was only just starting out, produced a film in which the park’s storks play a starring role. At these two centers, over the course of eight to 12 weeks, those selected receive funding, allowing them to think of and write up future projects. ‘It’s the ideal retreat,’ says Solenn Morel, who manages Les Capucins. ‘It’s really a moment of respite from the typical constraints that an artist faces.’</p>

<p>Sometimes, the setting allows access to specialized tools, like at CIRVA (International Center of Glass and Plastic Arts) in Marseille, where experienced glass blowers take on the fantastic ideas dreamed up by artists carrying out research into glass. In a similar vein, in spring 2023, Frac Picardie in Amiens will launch a residency entirely dedicated to animation techniques, in collaboration with the Paris gallery and studio Miyu Productions.</p>

<p>At the Fondation Fiminco, ‘the artists are guided by a workshop leader who helps them with different practices: It’s also a collective learning process which allows them to test and experiment with things,’ explains Katharina Scriba, the director of the venue. In an old industrial site in Romainville, north-east of Paris, which has been transformed into a cultural hub, technical know-how is on offer, with workshops in engraving, ceramics, and even a video department. All this is available to the 12 artists who stay there for almost a year working on research projects, creation, and production. The artist Chloé Royer, who arrived in September 2022, is thrilled to be able to experiment with so many techniques, as well as the freedom the residency affords. ‘Fiminco offers a huge range of possibilities, it’s a real playground. In 11 months I’m going to be able to try out all of the workshops.’ As a sculptor, she has been experimenting with ceramics, along with photography, and is working on a video for her final work. </p>

<p>Just a bit further north in the suburbs of Paris, Artagon Pantin promotes the sharing and mixing of disciplines, opening its doors to all branches of contemporary art. ‘We wanted to bring everyone working together in the same place,’ explains Anna Labouze and Keimis Henni, founders of the association. The researcher Seumboy Vrainom, the artist Alexia Fiasco – who also explores postcolonial themes through her collective Filles De Blédards – the artists Aïda Bruyère and L. Camus-Govoroff, as well as curators, journalists, and mediators are all working alongside each other. ‘It’s a fabulous playground to experiment in,’ Labouze and Henni add. A kind of university after university, they offer working spaces at reduced prices to 50 artists and professionals from the art world over a period of 18 months, and include meetings and professional appointments. The goal is to equip a new, committed generation: ‘To receive the advice that we would have loved to get when we were starting out.’</p>

<p>POUSH is another hub that rents out studios to 230 artists, including Alex Ayed and Bianca Bondi, in an old perfume factory in the northern suburb of Paris, Aubervilliers. It sees itself as an incubator – using business vocabulary to describe the art world is a reminder that art is work like any other. And to help artists grow, POUSH also offers guidance and administrative help, like meetings with lawyers.</p><p>At KADIST in Paris, works by the guest artists are already part of the foundation’s collection, but most of the artists themselves have never exhibited in France. The Mexican artist&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/8341/Mario-Garc%C3%ADa-Torres">Mario García Torres</a> participated in 2007, and the Peruvian artist Daniela Ortiz in 2018. More than just somewhere to produce work, KADIST sees itself as a ‘residency for connecting, for networking. The artist’s attention is constantly solicited; our approach is to guide and support them at a moment when they need this type of connection, by being an intermediary,’ describes Emilie Villez, the director.</p>

<p>Is there a residency for every season of an artist’s career? It may seem as if they’re primarily for emerging artists, but some, like LUMA Arles, are predominantly for established artists with an international reputation, like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/8267/Mohamed-Bourouissa">Mohamed Bourouissa</a> and Precious Okoyomon.  During their time in Arles, Okoyomon worked on their pieces for the Venice Biennale in 2022. But here, too, support is provided: ‘What interests us is being able to guide our residents’ intellectual, artistic, and personal exploration,’ explains Julie Boukobza, who is in charge of the institution’s residency program.</p><p>Providing support to artists also means taking into account their different personal situations, like being a parent. ‘Lots of places are open to families, but they don’t mention it,’ says Jouvancy. ‘We are encouraging them to be transparent, so that artists – and women in particular – don’t censure themselves.’ The Cité internationale des arts can help artists with or without a partner, with a young child, and is working on renovating spaces in order to let larger families take part. At KADIST, the team can help to arrange babysitting if needed.</p>

<p>Although not always required, there’s often a presentation that marks the end of the residency. At Les Capucins, ‘it can be a film projection, a performance, an open studio – we’re trying to have a variety of different mediums. This allows residents to realize that there’s no one way to show their work at the end of a residency, but different possibilities.’ It also helps to lift some of the mystery that sometimes surrounds artists’ work. </p>

<p>‘The artist isn’t there just to produce something, and when they do produce something, it’s the result of a process. It’s not always obvious how to bridge this gap between the huge attention given to the finished product and the process,’ says Bénédicte Alliot, who runs the Cité internationale des arts. This sprawling network of more than 300 studios with accommodation, offers weekly visits to workshops, promoting experimentation and a variety of research projects. The French-based Japanese artist Makiko Furuichi, whose watercolors are often displayed on walls or cover large sheets of fabric, presented ceramic works in her workshop. For Alliot, ‘The idea is to be able to say to yourself that you can take your time. It’s a chance to catch your breath, and sometimes this will only bear fruit in a few years’ time.’</p>

<p>Residencies can be productive, even essential, foundational moments in artists’ careers, as long as time is taken into account. ‘It’s a support that lasts. It really shows off the artist in their creative process, not just the moment when their work is exhibited,’ says Scriba. By ascribing importance to time, to process, and everything that goes into creating – whether that’s artistic experimentation or the administrative side of things – residencies are an opportunity to see more accurately what life is like for artists.</p>

<p>Soizic Pineau is a freelance writer based in Marseille.</p><p>English translation: Catherine Bennett.</p><p>Caption for full-bleed images, from top to bottom: 1. LUMA Arles.&nbsp;&copy; Iwan Baan. 2.&nbsp;Installation view of group show&nbsp;‘Pirouettes’, Frac Picardie, Amiens. Courtesy of the artists and Frac Picardie. 3.&nbsp;Atelier 3, view of&nbsp;Artagon Pantin by Clémence Rivalier, 2022-2023 resident. Courtesy of the artist and Artagon Pantin. 4. View of KADIST,&nbsp;2022. Photograph by Aurélien Mole. Courtesy of KADIST. 5.&nbsp;LUMA Arles. &copy; Iwan Baan. 6.&nbsp;View of&nbsp;the&nbsp;centre d’art contemporain - la synagogue de Delme. Photograph by Oh Dancy. Courtesy of&nbsp;centre d’art contemporain - la synagogue de Delme.</p><p>Published on March 3, 2023.</p>

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