The French Institute in India announces the laureates of the third edition of Villa Swagatam
Villa Swagatam brings together some of the most distinguished organisations committed to artistic and literary excellence and meaningful cultural exchange.
The French Institute in India is pleased to announce the selection of 34 laureates for the third edition of its flagship residency programme, Villa Swagatam, which will run from August 2025 to August 2026. This pioneering initiative fosters cross-cultural dialogue and creative collaboration between French and South Asian artists and writers, who will each spend one to three months at one of the partner residencies across India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and France.
Villa Swagatam brings together some of the most distinguished organisations committed to artistic and literary excellence and meaningful cultural exchange. In its third edition, the programme welcomes new partners that deepen the thematic, geographic, and creative diversity at its core. The literary strand of the programme now includes the Lakmahal Community Library in Colombo, marking the entry of Sri Lanka in the programme, and Chalet Mauriac in France, which introduces translation as one of Villa Swagatam's literary disciplines. In the realm of arts and crafts, new partners include the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, æquō gallery in Mumbai, and the Centre international de recherche sur le verre et les arts plastiques (Cirva) in Marseille. This edition features a bespoke month-long itinerant residency for acclaimed French playwright and director Pauline Bayle, hosted by Villa Swagatam partners across Delhi, Varanasi, Tamil Nadu, and Bengaluru, to support the final development of her Mahabharata adaptation, premiering in September 2026 at the Théâtre Public de Montreuil.
Joining our network offers residencies meaningful access to the vibrant contemporary cultural scenes of France and India, and creates new opportunities for collaboration and co-creation.
Highlighting the value of this programme, Ms Nelcy Mercier, Director of Operations, La Napoule Art Foundation, said: "For many years, our residency programmes have welcomed artists from across the globe. Yet, meaningful and sustained engagement with Indian practitioners was relatively rare. After initiating a first partnership with Prameya Art Foundation in 2015 to welcome a young Indian art critic, our collaboration with Villa Swagatam from 2023 has since opened a vital pathway into the richness and complexity of India's artistic landscape, allowing us to forge deeper, more sustained connections.
Projects developed by former Villa Swagatam residents have already begun to leave a significant mark on the global stage. Many have gone on to showcase their work at major events, such as India Design ID, India Art Fair, and Jodhpur Arts Week, while others have collaborated with influential organisations like le19m and Rooshad Shroff's Gallery. Alumni of the literary residencies have participated in major literary platforms, such as the Kerala Literature Festival, the Bangalore Literature Festival, and the Literature Live Festival in France, contributing to the dialogue of ideas. Many have signed with renowned publishing houses for works that explore India's rich cultural, philosophical, and literary traditions.
H.E. Mr Thierry Mathou, Ambassador of France to India, commenting on the success of the two previous batches: "Since its very inception, Villa Swagatam has been envisioned as a flagship initiative of our cultural cooperation with India, fostering a vibrant network of creative talents from both countries, with arts and crafts, and literature as key areas of exchange."
The call for applications for the third edition of Villa Swagatam was open from 16 April to 9 June 2024, inviting writers, graphic novelists, visual artists, designers, and cultural practitioners to apply. The offer was widely disseminated across the Villa Swagatam network of Indian and French partner organisations, reaching diverse creative communities. As a result, applications were received from a total of 520 candidates, including 353 Indian and 167 French applicants. This accounts for more than double the number of candidatures from Indian applicants as compared to the previous edition, a clear sign of the growing resonance and excitement surrounding this unique platform for cultural exchange between India and France.
The selected residents representing a vibrant mix of emerging talents and established professionals, Jérémy Fabre, Director, Maison Julien Gracq, remarked: "In the first year, we welcomed Rahul Bishnoi, a young performance scholar whose project weaves together Julien Gracq's interest in geography with his own interest in theatrical cartography. Next year, we will host Jacinta Kerketta, an acclaimed Indian poet and journalist whose evocative writing in Hindi brings Adivasi voices to the fore. Her participation strengthens our commitment to supporting diverse, rooted and resonant narratives, while introducing her poetry to the French literary landscape."
For many participants, this will be their first opportunity to immerse themselves in the cultures of France and South Asia, while for those already acquainted with these spaces, this is a reinvigorating opportunity to renew their professional and creative connections and advance specific projects. The long stay in their respective territories of residence allows them to participate in several outreach activities, fostering richer mutual exchanges of cultural perspectives and expertise between France and South Asia.
Insights into some of our future residents' projects:
From FRANCE to INDIA
Maylis de Kerangal (Sangam House): Maylis is a leading French novelist published by Gallimard, known for her documentary precision, poetic intensity, and deep attention to the real. "Coming for a literary residency to Villa Sangam offers the chance to bring together two opposing intensities: the immersion in a fascinating and unfamiliar Indian megacity, and the solitary intimacy of the writing process."
Johanna de Clisson (Nila House): Johanna is a renowned French ceramist, designer, and artistic director whose work explores the interplay between minimalism, architecture, and sensuous materiality. "Trained in a European context where minimalism, sober lines and the predominance of white occupy a central place in my work, I wish to initiate a dialogue between these two aesthetic universes. My project at Nila House will focus on blending cultures and know-how. Earth meets textiles while ceramics and weaving become one."
Monia Ben Romdan (Alice Boner Institute): Franco-Tunisian writer and performer Monia Aljalis explores identity and spiritual dissonance in contemporary life, with her acclaimed debut L'Extase (Seuil, 2024) and award-winning interdisciplinary work. "I wish for the banks of the Ganges to inspire a strong poem - one that speaks of acceptance, clarity and the grace of enlightenment."
From INDIA to FRANCE
Gayatri Shetty (Centre National de la Danse): Gayatri Shetty is a Bangalore-based contemporary dancer and choreographer whose improvisation-led practice explores fragility, repetition, and intimacy through embodied presence and choreographic inquiry. "CN D's unique environment offers the possibility to let the work evolve in dialogue with new spaces, histories, and conversations - challenging how I think about control, collapse, and choreography.
Meena Kandaswamy (Maison de la Poésie de Nantes): Meena is an acclaimed poet, novelist, and activist from Chennai whose powerful body of work explores themes of social justice, gender, and caste. "Translation is a form of transformation, and I want to discover what my poetry becomes when it breathes in French. I hope to also use this residency to create new work, letting the landscape and its spirit of resistance inspire a renewed poetic voice."
Manish Pushkale (Cirva): Manish Pushkale is a leading contemporary Indian abstract artist, known for his contemplative and richly layered canvases that explore memory and materiality. "During my residency, I am keen to understand and explore the possibilities of the ignition between the old and new aspects of glassmaking. My research will revolve around its exploration as either the 'newness of the old' or the 'oldness of the new.'"
Laureates 2025 - 2026
The Villa Swagatam network consists of 30 residences divided into 3 categories:
Residencies in France (11)
- Center National de la Danse (Pantin) - Gayatri Shetty, dancer & choreographer
- La Maison de la Poésie (Nantes) - Meena Kandasamy, author and poet
- La Maison des Auteurs - Cité Internationale de la Bande Dessinée et de l'Image (Angoulême and Goa) - Samarth (Roeqin), graphic novelist
- La Maison Julien Gracq (Saint-Florent-Le-Vieil) - Jacinta Kerketta, author and poet
- La Marelle (La Ciotat) - Parismita Singh, author and illustrator
- La Napoule Art Foundation - International collective residency (Château de La Napoule) - Sajid Wajid Shaikh, visual artist
- La Napoule Art Foundation x Prameya Art Foundation (Château de La Napoule) - Sukanya Deb, art critic and curator
- La Villa Gillet (Lyon) - Ruchir Joshi, author and journalist
- Le Centre international de recherche sur le verre et les arts plastiques (Cirva) (Marseille) - Manish Pushkale, visual artist
- Manufactures Nationales (Paris) - Carola Winnie Isaac, designer
- Chalet Mauriac (Saint-Symphorien) - Subhashree Beeman, literary translator
Literary Residencies in South Asia (10)
- Alice Boner Institute (Varanasi) - Monia Ben Romdan, author and poet
- Eklavya Foundation (Bhopal) - Juliette Armagnac, author and illustrator
- Himalayan Writing Retreat (Sathkol) - Aliona Gloukhova, author
- Lakmahal Library (Colombo) - Selim-a Atallah Chettaoui, poet and performer
- MAD Salon+Lab (Bangalore) - Daniele Pasin, illustrator
- Rachna Books (Gangtok) - Séraphine Menu, children's book author
- Sangam House (Bengaluru) - Maylis de Kerangal, author
- Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts (Angoulême and Goa) - Julia Bourdet, author and illustrator
- Tara Books (Auroville) - Bérénice Milon, visual artist and illustrator
- Vagamon Writers Residency (Vagamon) - Sarah Martine Voke, researcher and translator, and Sophie d'Aubreby, author
Arts & Crafts Residencies in South Asia (10)
- æquō gallery (Mumbai) - Marie Gastini, designer
- Brihatta Art Foundation (Dhaka, Bangladesh) - Clémence Vazard, multidisciplinary artist
- Hampi Art Labs (Hampi) - Marion Flament, visual artist
- Jaipur Rugs (Jaipur) - Gabriel Hafner, designer
- Kalhath Institute (Lucknow) - Dalila Dalleas Bouzar, visual artist, and Deborah di Fiore, visual artist and illustrator
- Kochi-Muziris Biennale (Kochi) - Shivay La Multiple, multidisciplinary artist
- Nila House (Jaipur) - Johanna de Clisson, designer and ceramist
- Public Arts Trust of India (Jodhpur) - Alice Amoroso, visual artist
- Serendipity Arts (New Delhi) - Josefina Paz, multidisciplinary artist
- Vastrakala Craft (Chennai) - Pauline Esparon, designer
For more details on the residencies and laureates, visit the Villa Swagatam website: villaswagatam.org
Instagram: @villaswagatam
X: @ifiofficiel
LinkedIn: @IFIOfficiel
Facebook: @IFIOfficiel
Contact email: [email protected]
No comment
Log in to post comment. Log in.