Cité internationale des arts, Paris

Perspective on our stay in Paris. And a word of appreciation and thanks for the second opportunity to stay in the Cité internationale des arts.

https://www.citedesartsparis.net/en/


The Cité internationale des arts’ Marais site has a 525 m², 3-floor gallery with 7 brightly lit rooms. Located at the corner of Rue de l’Hôtel de Ville and Rue Geoffroy l’Asnier, opposite Île Saint Louis, the Galerie affords breathtaking views of the Seine.



There are two selection methods for obtaining a residency at the Cité internationale des arts.

Through the Cité internationale des arts

French and foreign artists can apply to the Cité internationale des arts, which organizes commissions dedicated to different disciplines (visual arts, music, writing, performing arts) and themes. It also develops residency programs in collaboration with identified and prescriptive institutions, which support emerging talents on the international art scene by awarding grants.

Through Subscribers

Our network of 135 partners - called "subscribers" - can designate, according to their own terms, an artist for a residency at the Cité internationale des arts.

Sout Africans can access the facility through SANAVA (South African National Association for the Visual Arts) https://sanava.co.za/

The Cité Internationale des Arts provides a stay of limited duration to professional artists who wish to develop their artistic skills in France. It has been a public benefit foundation since 1957 and is linked to a vast network of partners and associates worldwide. Its founders include a large number of states, schools, institutes, universities and ministries from close to 50 countries. Three of its historic founders and key partners are the City of Paris and the French Ministries of Culture and Foreign Affairs.

The site, located at 18 rue de l’Hôtel de Ville, includes 312 individual studios in the heart of the Marais district. It is a dynamic quarter swarming with art galleries and is a favourite destination for Parisians. Residents may practice their artistic discipline and develop their creative techniques for the duration of their stay at the Cité. The complex also houses exhibition areas where artists can display their works and an auditorium where they can perform concerts. Since its opening in 1965, the Cité has accommodated more than 18 000 artists from all over the world.

In the early 1980’s SANAVA acquired three atelier apartments at the Cité. They were acquired for the benefit of South African visual artists who have been members of a branch of the association for at least two immediately preceding years. The apartments are held in trust in terms of an Occupational Rights Agreement by the SANAVA Cité des Arts Trust, valid until 22 March 2060.

The apartments create golden opportunities for those who had already shown proof of their artistic merit to spend a few months in Paris,
to enrich their lives while living and working in a world metropolis, known for its cultural richness, and to experience the cultures of, and interact with artists from all over the world.

Founded in 1965, Cité internationale des arts, is today the largest artist residency center in the world: 22, 000 artists have been hosted in residence since its creation. Its ideal location in the heart of Paris is an added value for artists to interact with the cultural scene of the French capital, and it makes Cité an important hub in the cultural landscape of Paris and internationally.

Cité internationale des arts is located on two complementary sites, one in the Marais district and the other in Montmartre. With its 135 French and international partners, it welcomed in 2016 more than 1,200 artists from 100 countries in more than 300 studios. Artists from all disciplines but also curators are hosted for residencies that can last from 2 to 12 months.

The ambitious project of Cité international des arts is to welcome artists from all around the world, giving them the adequate environment to encourage encounters, artistic crossovers and creativity. It is a place open to dialogue between cultures, where artists meet their audiences and professionals.

With more than 300 new resident artists every month, a total of more than 1,200 artists discover or rediscover the Cité internationale des arts every year. 

History



It was during the effervescence of the 1937 Universal Exhibition that the desire to reposition Paris as the capital of the arts was heard. The idea of a private foundation recognized as being of public utility began to take root. The project of the Cité internationale des arts is underway.



Between 1962 and 1965, the Cité internationale des arts comes out of the ground. It was inaugurated in 1965 and the first artists settled there.



In the early 1970s, the Cité internationale des arts expanded and inaugurated a second site in Montmartre. A stone's throw from the Sacré-Coeur, surrounded by a large wooded garden, this new site welcomed some forty artists in residency.



Forthwith, the Cité internationale des arts joined forces with partners to develop its residencies: they are called partners. They have given Cité the opportunity to welcome artists from all over the world.

Today more than 25,000 artists have been in residence at the Cité internationale des arts. Each time they bring with them their projects and their universes.

The Open Studios: Work in Slow Motion is a weekly event during which participants can visit the studios of artists-in-residency.

Every Wednesday evening from 6-9 pm, the public discovers the work in progress of six residents, either in their studios or the auditorium. The same event is held twice a year at the Montmartre site.