Application deadline: March 10, 2023, 11:59 p.m. (French time)
Profiles sought: creators, thinkers, and cultural professionals
Villa Albertine is aimed at creators, researchers, and cultural professionals from the African continent who are working on an original research project requiring an immersion stay in the United States.
Applicants must be citizens of an African country, and their activity must be primarily based in Africa.
Applicants must be fluent in English in order to communicate with American professionals. Applicants are therefore asked to provide a 3-minute video in which they introduce themselves and present their project in English. It is not necessary to be a French speaker.
Applicants must be over 21 years of age before the planned departure date for the residency.
The call for applications is open to individual applicants only (group applications will not be considered).
COVID-related health restrictions require all non-US travelers to be vaccinated with at least two doses. Applicants must comply with US entry requirements.
Exploratory residency projects
The Villa Albertine's exploratory residencies are not intended to be a work in isolation, but rather a field investigation that inspires and creates connections. They may be based on a new proposal, specifically designed for the Villa Albertine, or on pre-existing research that would find a unique development in the United States. In both cases, it is the project's relationship to the territory that makes it interesting. The project will question a contemporary issue that resonates both in the United States and on the African continent.
While the residency must result in a presentation, in a form to be specified, its focus is not on the creation and completion of a work, particularly a material one, as would be the case with a production residency. The residency allows selected creators and thinkers to access key organizations and professionals in their fields in the United States. The project proposed by the candidates must enable them to engage in active dialogue with these local actors. Therefore, candidates' projects must necessarily be based in an American city, identified at the application stage.
All disciplines of the arts, culture, and thought are eligible. Applicants may propose projects in the following fields, among others: visual arts, design, architecture, performing arts, music, film, digital creation, fiction, comics, social sciences, etc.
Five two-month residencies in an American city in
2024
Five two-month residencies will be selected. They must be based in a city in the United States.
The Villa Albertine has 10 permanent offices which, from their city of location, extend their activities to a wider area, as shown on the map below.
Applicants are invited to propose a two-month residency based in a city in the United States. They may choose one of the ten cities where Villa Albertine has a permanent branch (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.) or another city.
The Villa Albertine focuses on specific themes for certain cities, such as the environment in Miami, space exploration in Houston, institutional renewal in Washington DC, etc. Applicants may choose to explore these themes or others that are relevant to the area in question. Presentations of these cities and the themes and issues identified are available here
.
The jury will select five residency projects, ensuring diversity in the disciplines and territories represented. It should be noted that the most competitive territories are New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago.