Visual Artist Residency at the Joux-la-Ville Detention Centre 2026-2027

About this call

For the third year, the DRAC Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, the probation and reintegration service of the Yonne (SPIP) and the Château de Monthelon invite women visual artists to apply for a mediation residency at the Joux-la-Ville detention centre in the Yonne, France. It is a residency of action and mediation, not of creation: its first aim is for incarcerated adult women (6 to 8 participants) to meet an artist and her work. The artist leads 40 hours of meetings and workshops over three weeks between mid-April and mid-July 2027, in sessions of 2 to 3 hours, and the project ends with a presentation and the return of the works to the women who made them. All visual media are possible within the material limits of detention. The artist stays at the Château de Monthelon in Montréal (Yonne).

Who can apply

• Open to applicants of any nationality
• Medium: Mixed Media
• Entry fee: See official site
• Open to women visual artists of any age and from anywhere, but the artist must speak French well enough to communicate with the participants. Experience in prisons is not required; a practice of leading workshops for specific audiences (care or educational settings) is desired. The artist must be able to get around on her own and hold a driving licence (the Château can lend a vehicle). The selected artist sends a full list of the materials needed before the selection committee, takes part in one or more video preparation meetings and sends a detailed report within 3 months after the project. A project cut back unilaterally may have to repay the grant. Any change made to the project while it runs must be reported to the SPIP cultural coordinator and the Château de Monthelon. To apply, email a file presenting your artistic approach and a statement of intent for the mediation residency, with a portfolio and/or CV, to the four addresses in the call (sebastien.lardet@culture.gouv.fr, cille.programmation@monthelon.org, clemence.michoud@externes.justice.fr, actionsdeterritoire@monthelon.org) before 31 October 2026. Shortlisted candidates are offered a video interview in November 2026.