Villa Albertine

Villa Albertine is a new kind of cultural institution whose mission is to create a community for arts and ideas, between France and the United States. With a team of 80 people deployed across the United States, Villa Albertine offers 60 custom exploratory residencies annually; a series of events; an online magazine; and programs and resources for professionals in the cultural sphere. 

Villa Albertine, France’s fourth major Villa globally, opened in the fall of 2021 and will host residents (including artists, professionals, and thinkers) in 10 major cities across the United States.

With Villa Albertine, France recognizes the central importance of the United States in the global geography of arts and ideas, but also reaffirms the unique cultural dialogue between our two countries.

Learn more about Villa Albertine at villa-albertine.org. 

Villa Albertine’s origin

The historic Villa model, which offers a space to welcome a group of residents in a unique setting abroad, meets its limitations when transported to the United States. No single American city can embody the variety of cultural dynamics that make the United States a global trendsetter.

In response to these challenges, Villa Albertine proposes a pioneering concept: a Villa at the scale of the United States, with a permanent presence in 10 major American cities (in New York, where the headquarters will be located, as well as in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, New Orleans, Miami, Atlanta, Washington D.C., Boston, and Chicago), ready to be activated throughout the rest of the country.

Rather than bring a group of French residents to build community amongst themselves in a single location, this Villa will welcome and accompany the residents one by one, in one or several cities of their choice, adapting to the nature of each project.

Villa Albertine’s mission

Villa Albertine, an initiative of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, with support from the Ministry of Culture and French and American private and public donors, aims to reinvent artists’ residencies and build a community for arts and ideas between France and the US.

1 | Building a community for arts and ideas

Villa Albertine will contribute to fostering dialogue between France, America, and the rest of the globe, especially in a time of crisis following the COVID-19 pandemic and in the wake of unrest around racial justice on both sides of the Atlantic.

2 | Anticipating societal change

The pandemic revealed a variety of multifaceted contemporary crisis across the globe (social, economic, environmental). The Villa was born out of the conviction that artists can help us understand and solve these urgent societal issues and it seeks to harness and amplify the voices of those who think and create, in dialogue with their American peers.

3 | Reinventing the concept of artistic residency 

In order to enable artists to explore the vast diversity of the American culture and territory, Villa Albertine breaks with the historical model of a residency in a single location. Residents will either stay at a physical Villa Albertine location in a given city––as is the case in San Francisco, where Villa San Francisco opened in early 2020; at a local partners’ residence; or at separate lodging in a part of town that best serves their work and creative ambitions. Residents will benefit from tailored support administered by the Villa Albertine staff throughout their residency. The Villa functions as a residency, but also as an online magazine and resource for the creators taking part in this great individual and collective exploration.

Beyond the residences

In addition to offering 60 residencies each year, Villa Albertine will feature a program of public-facing events; an online magazine; and 15+ professional programs aimed at encouraging collaboration between French and American creatives.

Some of Villa Albertine’s offerings are a continuation of the FACE Foundation and Cultural Services’ existing programming (such as étant donnés Contemporary Art). The Villa will also incorporate new initiatives (such as Digital Playgrounds, a program that will support video game and immersive experience designers, in partnership with the CNC).

Learn more about Villa Albertine at 

villa-albertine.org