Residency programme Art Explora x Cité internationale des arts, 2026 Sessions

This residency program is open to artists and artist collectives, researchers, and curators of all nationalities, without age restrictions, who can demonstrate a minimum of five years of professional activity and have exhibited their works and research internationally.

Whether your application is for the first residency session (March–August 2026) or the second session (September 2026–February 2027), you must submit your application in response to this call for applications.

Eligible artistic disciplines include: visual arts, performance arts, digital arts, art criticism, and curatorial practices.

Eligible research fields include: humanities, social sciences, sciences, technological innovation, and ecology.

Find the detailed guidelines of the call for applications and the residency programme here.

Residency Programmes

Three residency programmes are available:

SOLO programme: open to artists only, for 3- or 6-month residencies during two sessions: March–August 2026 and September 2026–February 2027.

COLLECTIVE Programme: open to collectives or duos of artists, researchers and curators, for a 3-month residency during 4 sessions: March-May 2026 / June-August 2026 / September-November 2026 / December 2026-February 2027.

CROSSED-RESIDENCY programme with Vila 31 x Art Explora in Tirana, Albania: 2 SOLO artists will be selected to participate in a cross-residency programme: 3 months in Tirana and 3 months in Paris. Tirana (May to July 2026) – Paris (September to November 2026) / Tirana (September to November 2026) – Paris (December 2026 to February 2027)
If you are interested in the COLLECTIVE programme, only one application should be submitted by one of the collective members.

For this programme, only one studio flat (one bedroom with a double bed, a workspace, a kitchen and a bathroom) can be made available to a single member of the collective. The workspace can be shared with other members.

If you are interested in applying to multiple programmes, you must submit a separate application for each programme.

As part of this residency programme, Art Explora and the Cité internationale des Arts are offering eight studio apartments.

Each resident benefits from:

• A 3- or 6-month residency at the Cité internationale des Arts – Montmartre site in Paris
• A studio apartment of approximately 50m² (one double bed), equipped and furnished
• A living allowance of €1,000 per month
• A production grant of €3,000
• A round trip to Paris

NB: For the crossed-residency programme, during the Tirana stage, the living allowance is €600 per month and the production grant is €1,500, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Art Explora x Vila 31 residency programme in Tirana. For more information, visit the Art Explora website.

NB: For the Collective programme, only one studio-accommodation (a room with a double bed, a workspace, a kitchen and a bathroom) will be available, for one member of the collective only.

However, the workspace may be shared with the other members of the collective. The living allowance will only be paid to the artist staying at the Cité internationale des arts – Montmartre site, and a joint production grant will be allocated to the project.

The residency programmes are designed to support a project in its entirety or just one stage of it: no output is required at the end of the residency.

Selection Criteria
Around twenty residents are selected each year. In addition to evaluating the candidate’s professional background, the committee members pay particular attention to the quality of the project, its connection to the themes of the residency, and the importance of its location in France for its development.

The selection committee is composed of international figures from the art and research worlds:

• Hoor Al-Qasimi (United Arab Emirates): President and Director of Sharjah Art Foundation
• Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev (Italy & United States): Curator, writer and Honorary Guest Professor at FHNW University in Basel.
• Stuart Comer (United States): Lonti Ebers Chief Curator of Media and Performance at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
• Adriano Pedrosa (Brazil): Artistic Director of Museu de Arte de São Paulo – Assis Chateaubriand
• Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung (Cameroon): Director of the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) in Berlin
• Hans Ulrich Obrist (Switzerland & United Kingdom): Artistic Director of the Serpentine Galleries in London
• X Zhu-Nowell (China & United-States): Director and Chief Curator of the Rockbund Art Museum (RAM) in Shanghai

Important Dates

Application deadline: October 31, 2025, 11:59 pm (GMT +02:00) Europe/Paris

• Announcement of laureates for the first session (March-August 2026): January 2026
• Announcement of laureates for the second session (September 2026-February 2027) : May 2026

If you have questions about the application process, please contact: [email protected]

Please ensure that the personal information provide is correct, including your contact details, as they will be used to reach you if you are among the laureates.

To apply, click here or visit the website linked below