Deadline: 10-Mar-23

Villa Albertine in partnership with the Ford Foundation welcomes five thinkers, creators, or culture professionals from the African continent to complete a residency in the US.

The five laureates, selected out of the current call for applications, will get the opportunity to complete a two-month exploratory residency in a US city in 2024. This residency program aims to promote unique creative voices and practices from Africa with the potential to shed light on major contemporary issues, as well as open up new perspectives in the US and France.

Five two-month city-based residencies in 2024

• This program shall select five two-month residencies that each focus on a particular US city.
• Applicants are asked to submit a two-month residency project that is rooted in a specific US city, to be chosen either from one of the ten cities in which Villa Albertine has established a permanent branch, or another US city.
• Villa Albertine pursues specific thematic areas in a number of these cities, such as the environment in Miami, space exploration in Houston, institutional reform in Washington DC, etc. Applicants may choose to explore either these given themes, or others that would be relevant to the desired geographical area.
• In selecting the five winning projects, the jury shall take care to ensure diversity in the disciplines and geographical areas under consideration. It should be noted that the most popular areas are usually the cities of New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

Support from Villa Albertine

• Villa Albertine shall provide personal support tailored to each resident’s expectations and profile. A program of meetings, visits, and events shall be drawn up for each resident according to their project and needs.
• Villa Albertine shall help residents analyze the material and logistic requirements for successfully completing their project, organize their journey and stay, provide them with information on the local artistic and cultural scene, and offer them access to its network of partners.

Coverage of Residency-Related Expenses

• Thanks to the financial support of the Ford Foundation, Villa Albertine is able to cover the following travel and living expenses for each residency:
  • a residency allowance to cover everyday expenses (meals, local transport, etc.), based on the average cost of living for each of the ten geographical areas where Villa Albertine has a branch;
  • a round trip to the US from the resident’s home country;
  • accommodation;
  • health, civil liability, and repatriation insurance;
  • and any necessary visa fees.
• Villa Albertine cannot undertake to cover spending other than the aforementioned travel costs and living expenses.

Eligibility Criteria

Desired profiles: Creators, thinkers, and culture professionals

• Villa Albertine is looking for creators, researchers, and culture professionals from across the African continent who wish to conduct an original research project requiring an immersive stay in the US.
• Applicants must be citizens of an African country, and their professional activity must be based primarily in Africa.
• In order to be able to communicate with professionals in the US, applicants must speak fluent English. As such, they are required to submit a three-minute video in which they introduce themselves and their project in English. Fluency in French is not required.
• Applicants must be at least 21 years of age prior to their estimated residency start date.
• This call is open to individual applications only; collective group applications shall not be accepted.
• Current health regulations require all non-American citizens traveling to the US to have had at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccination. Applicants must comply with US entry regulations.

Criteria

• The jury shall assess applications according to three criteria:
  • Quality of the applicant’s overall work – The applicant practices their artistic or intellectual work on a professional basis; they are recognized by peers in their field; and their project for Villa Albertine is a logical continuation of their research objectives;
  • Quality of the project – The project addresses a contemporary issue that resonates both in the US and in Africa; its artistic, cultural and intellectual focuses are clear and relevant; and it presents a strong connection to the dynamics of the applicant’s proposed city of residency such that it requires them to travel to the US; and
  • Feasibility of the project – Villa Albertine reserves the right not to host projects it cannot properly support.
• Applicants may only submit one application for this call. Any applications deemed incomplete or failing to meet these conditions shall not be considered. Any untruthful representations shall automatically render the application null and void.

For more information, visit Villa Albertine.