Open Call: 2023 Residency at Villa Villekulla

The residency programme for 2023 is described as follows:

The state of the world appears fragile. A voice calling for stable grounds, for solutions even, is becoming louder and louder around us and within us. Uncertainty haunts us as much as everyone else – we, as the working collective of the Residency Villekulla, are uncertain about our ways of doing things but then again quite convinced of our intentions. Hence, we plead for allowing uncertainty to be part of our everyday practices, and to work on overcoming it in collective efforts. Standpoints should be challenged and questioned, should be refined and reshaped, in relation to what surrounds us, in relation to others, human and non-human. All of this with the only constant of knowing that we soon have to overcome ourselves again. We want that, precisely.

Applications can be sent individually or as a working collective.

The Villekulla is a place for and by artists, an old house with living‑, studio‑, exhibition- and working spaces (which are regrettably, due to the twisty architecture of the house, not suited for wheelchair access). The Villekulla is located in the heart of the medieval village of Faucogney-et-la-Mer, in the south of the Vosges. The village is to be reached either by hitchhiking, cycling, walking, or by car.

The residency is in constant transformation, a place in progress, a place of encounters and constant collaboration. Their interest does not lay in what you already have achieved, but in what you want to remain unsure of.

For the year 2023, they offer two residency slots. In each of such, five artists are invited to live and work in the Villekulla respectively:

Slot 01: 01.05.2023 – 31.07.2023

Slot 02: 31.07.2023 – 31.10.2023

The costs for the residency amount to CHF 660 per person and aim to cover ancillary costs for the time of the stay. Personal guests during the stay must be arranged with the other residents and are asked to undertake a solidarity contribution of total CHF 8 per night and person.

At the end of the year (December), the two groups together with the members of the working collective of the residency as well as the curators of the exhibition space Krone/Couronne in Biel/Bienne will be able to work out an exhibition. The show is intended to take place as a group exhibition that brings work created during the residency into contact with the public. This is not to ask you to create work altogether. Rather, they are aiming to host individual as well as collective artistic standpoints relating to our annual topic “staying uncertain”.

In the prospect of the group exhibition, it seems important for them that the two groups get to know each other in advance. Therefore, they would like to invite all residents to have lunch altogether on the day on which the first group departs and the second arrives at the house (31.07.2023).

On arrival in Faucogney-et-la-Mer, one member of the collective Villekulla will be present to hand over the house to the residents and take it back before departure.

To use the workshops, an introduction must be made during the handover. In the event of confusion regarding the use of machinery or materials during the residence or in the event of loss and/or damage of furniture and/or infrastructure, the contact person must be informed, and the relevant item is replaced upon agreement with the contact person.

The collective Villekulla does not assume any liability for the damage of any objects from and of the house, especially if no liability is assumed for the loss or damage of private objects or in case of injury of residents by third parties. The residents are recommended to take out adequate insurance in a sufficient amount. The residents commit to treating the provided infrastructure, the surroundings, and the neighborhood with respect and care.

They accept applications until October 25th, 2022.

The Jury consists of the Villekulla collective and two external members.

Applications are processed until the end of October; definite answers will be sent by email.

Click here to apply.