4th Edition of Villa Swagatam Across South Asia And France

The new call is open to French and Indian applicants who wish to join one of the network’s residencies in 2026-2027. Applications are open until midnight (CEST) on Monday, 31 May 2026.

Villa Swagatam: Agility, Frugality, Mutuality

Since its launch in 2023, Villa Swagatam has established itself as a dynamic platform for creative exchange, bringing together a growing network of residences across France and South Asia. The program supports artists, translators, writers, designers and researchers who want to engage deeply with new cultural environments and develop joint projects through comprehensive residencies ranging from one to three months. At the heart of Villa Swagatam lies a dual thematic focus that shapes both its identity and impact: literature, arts and crafts.

Villa Swagatam stands out with its collaborative structure and strong commitment to local ecosystems. The program is built on the principle of reciprocity: since 2024, Indian laureates have been hosted in France under the same framework, ensuring a truly bilateral exchange dynamic instead of one-way circulation of artists. This principle has now been fully realized in the present edition, which has reached an almost parity between its calm flow in both directions. It operates through a dense network of approximately thirty resident partners, each of whom is actively involved in the selection and accompaniment of residents.

At the heart of Villa Swagatam lies a simple belief: creative encounters are one of the most powerful ways to build lasting relationships between communities. HE Thierry Mathou, French Ambassador to India, emphasizes: “The creators who join the Villa Swagatam family are truly passionate individuals: whether they are encountering the ecosystem for the first time or returning to it with a new vision, building bridges between places, practices and perspectives. Each edition brings an extraordinary set of projects shaped by these encounters. We are delighted to welcome a new group and look forward to seeing the dialogues and forms that will emerge during the India-France Year of Innovation in 2026.”

A growing cultural Passeur community

In the first three editions, Villa Swagatam supported almost 100 residents, creating a dense network of collaborations in literature, visual arts, craft traditions, design and translation. This dynamic was particularly presented to the President of the French Republic, Mr. Emmanuel Macron, during his official visit to India as part of a cultural event organized in partnership with the Serendipity Art Foundation.

Beyond the residence, these experiences often open the door to some of the most important cultural platforms around the world, from the India Art Fair, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, 1-54 Marrakech to the Kerala Literature Festival and Littérature Live in Lyon. Residents are not only immersed in local contexts; they are channeled into vibrant professional environments where their work gains visibility, dialogue, and new trajectories.

This aspect is central to the program’s philosophy: Villa Swagatam is not designed as a one-time mobility opportunity, but as a catalyst for continuous change. Many residents return, collaborate again, translate, publish, exhibit or create together with partners they encountered during their stay; thus establishing lasting relationships with artisans, artisans, writers, curators and publishers in different regions. These long-term connections form the backbone of the growing Indo-French cultural ecosystem based on trust, reciprocity and co-creation.

Exploring “new territory” for the fourth edition

The fourth edition of Villa Swagatam emerges in the context of the India France Year of Innovation 2026, which the program has adopted not as a theme but as a method. Expanding its network and deepening its scope, Villa Swagatam is entering new territory by establishing partnerships that reflect the most forward-thinking intersections of creation, research, and material application.

In France:

● Villa Swagatam is strengthening its engagement with contemporary artistic experimentation through new collaborations with the Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon (macLYON), which will host a ceramics-focused residence at the intersection of art and technique, and the Fondation Thalie in Arles, internationally known for its pioneering work in biodesign and sustainable creative practices.

● This edition also marks the beginning of the first literary residency on the island of La Réunion, a French overseas territory in the Indian Ocean with deep historical and cultural ties to India. The residency will be realized by Banyan – Center d’art contemporain de la Cité des Arts de La Réunion et Lerka (an experimental space for contemporary artistic research and creation) and will host an Indian writer whose project explores and reactivates these enduring connections.

● In this edition, Villa Swagatam also introduces its first research expertise in collaboration with the Nantes Institute and invites Indian scholars, thinkers and researchers to propose a project at the intersection of humanities, new dreams and contemporary global challenges.

In South Asia:

● Villa Swagatam continues to explore the dialogue between tradition and innovation through a new partnership with StoneX Global, offering a residence based on stone and marble that conveys both architectural memory and contemporary sculptural potential.

● A new literary residency is also being launched in New Delhi with Red House, a family-run cultural center located in a repurposed industrial estate that is a symbol of the capital’s thriving creative scene.

● Continuing the spirit of expansion into residences in South Asia, Villa Swagatam is expanding its network to Bhutan for the first time. VAST Bhutan will welcome a graphic novelist invited to engage with the social, cultural and ecological landscapes of the country.

● Additionally, in Bangladesh, the program welcomes the Cosmos Foundation, which provides access to a rich and dynamic craft ecosystem where craft knowledge and contemporary creation intersect.

Finally, this edition introduces an ambitious new format: the traveling literary residency. Designed as a curated, multi-site journey, it will offer a resident the opportunity to develop a project across four to six cities in India, engaging with a range of contexts, collaborators and publics. This experimental format reflects Villa Swagatam’s commitment to rethinking residence models, privileging movement, immersion, and multiple perspectives on a single fixed location.

With these new directions, Villa Swagatam reaffirms its role as a laboratory of contemporary creation that not only accompanies artistic and literary practices but also actively reshapes the geographies and methods of cultural exchange.

This announcement marks Villa Swagatam’s flagship annual call for applications, but the program will continue to include other selected collaborations and initiatives throughout the year, reflecting the dynamic of the India-France Year of Innovation and paving the way for other original opportunities for creators in the two regions.

Villa Swagatam has more than 30 residences divided into three thematic and geographical categories.

In South Asia, the focus is on the following sectors:

Literature:

● Alice Boner Institute (Varanasi) – literature

● Eklavya Foundation (Bhopal) – children’s literature

● Sangam House (Bangalore) – literature

● Red House (New Delhi) – literature

● Lakmahal Library (Colombo) – literature

● VAST Bhutan (Thimphu and Punakha) – comics

● Mobile Residency (multiple cities) – literature

Arts and Crafts:

● Cosmos Foundation (Dhaka) – arts and crafts

● Hampi Art Laboratories (Hampi) – arts and crafts

● Jaipur Rugs (Jaipur) – hand-woven

● Kalhath Institute (Lucknow) – embroidery

● Nila House (Jaipur) – textiles and indigo

● Public Art Foundation of India (Jodhpur) – arts and crafts

● Vastrakala (Chennai) – embroidery

● StoneX Global (Kishangarh) – arts and crafts (stone and marble)

There are fifteen shared residencies in France open to all types of artistic and literary profiles:

● Maison de la Poésie de Nantes (Nantes) – poetry

● Maison des auteurs – Cité Internationale de la Bande Dessinée et de l’Image (Angoulême) – comics and graphic novels

● Maison Julien Gracq (Saint-Florent-Le-Vieil) – literature

● Villa Gilletx Lyon BD (Lyon) – comics

● Chalet Mauriacet La Villa Valmont (Saint-Symphorien and Bordeaux) – translation

● Lerka x Cité des Arts Réunion (Saint Denis, La Réunion) – literature

● Marelle (Marseille) – literature and hybrid writing practices

● Institut d’études avancées de Nantes (Nantes) – critical thinking

● Center National de la Danse (Pantine) – contemporary dance

● La Napoule Arts Foundation (Mandelieu La Napoule) – literature, visual arts, performing arts

● Art Writers Prize x Prameya Art Foundation (Mandelieu La Napoule) – critical writing and curatorial practice

● Manufactures Nationales (Paris et Sèvres) – arts and crafts

● La Fondation Thalie (Arles) – arts and crafts

● Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon – macLyon (Lyon) – arts and crafts (ceramics)

● Center International de Recherche sur le verre et les Arts plastiques (Marseille) – arts and crafts (glass)

The program is supported by the Institut français.