A contemporary art residency dedicated to environmental collaboration

Artists have the capacity to catalyse society’s transition to greater sustainability by creating dialogue, reflection and emotional resonance around key environmental issues, enabled by their innate propensity for exploration, collaboration and experimentation.

The STRATA x LES ARCHES CITOYENNES residency offers contemporary artists whose practice revolves around environmentally-focused research a two and a half month immersion in a socially-responsible ecosystem in the centre of Paris.

The selected artist has access to a 65m2 studio space in the heart of Paris (opposite Hôtel de ville), career development support from STRATA, as well as all the richness of the ecosystem of LES ARCHES CITOYENNES, made up of nearly 450 Social Economy organisations, artists and artisans.

The residency is not a production residency but a research residency which encourages collaboration between artists and the surrounding ecosystem through the prism of art, ecology and a selection of over-arching societal themes.

Spring 2024 Residency

“Faire la ville” (Making a city) (4 March – 17 May 2024)

The city, a necessary reality for most, is a concentration of hopes, violence, opportunities, constraints, diversities, and inequalities. As a nexus of frequent encounters and frictions, it constantly interrogates the question of coexistence.

Often preordained, the arrangement of the spaces in which we move and their uses, nevertheless, greatly influence our journeys, our interactions, and our lifestyles. 

In reality, urban space is neither fixed nor granted. This cycle reminds us that the city is in perpetual motion, constantly renewing itself, and that we too can affect it. It is an invitation to become aware of and take ownership of the public space in which we navigate, transforming ourselves from mere passers-by into active participants.

How can we reclaim our public space? How can we collectively work towards a more organic and pluralistic city, one that better reflects our diverse realities and individualities? How can we together build more inclusive, responsible, and playful spaces where everyone feels free to flourish?

Artists in residence

Seumboy

Poumtchak Studio

Efe Godoy (in collaboration with Thanks for Nothing)

Past residents

Winter Residency: “Habiter et co-habiter / Living & Co-living” (4 December 2023 – 23 February 2024)

The winter cycle invites the chosen artists to explore the notion of living together in a given territory and to reflect on the way in which people can interact with their environment and those who populate it. This residency is an invitation to think about the collective construction of common spaces respectful of diversity and biodiversity in which everyone can find their place and flourish individually.

Current residents:

Julie Gaubert

Thomas Noui

Autumn (18 September – 25 November 2023) : “itinérance, transmission et oralité / migration, transmission and orality”

Ludivine ZAMBON, photo & video-led artist

Summer (26 June – 8 September 2023) : “Genre, sexualité et identité / gender, sexuality and identity”

Jean-François KREBS, trans-disciplinary artist

Support us

In order to finance new artistic production to its full potential, and to amplify our visibility via communication and associated programming (events, exhibitions, etc.), we are currently looking for partners to support our programming.

If you want to know more, please contact us.