Taking note of the urgent issues of ecological transition and convinced of the transformative power of art and design in society, the Fondation d’entreprise Martell is evolving to become a research, dialogue and awareness-raising platform focused on the Living. From now on, it will give priority support to any creative project with a regenerative dimension, whether pragmatic approaches such as eco-design, more sensitive approaches, or initiatives combining art and science, aiming to open new ways to build a resilient and equitable future. Valuing local resources, this new program will promote knowledge-sharing, cross fertilization and material hybridization, in close dialogue with the local region.

Public events are organised once the residence is over enabling craftsmen and researches to present the project they developed within their residency.

The residency program is open to designers, artists, craftsmen, researchers, and multidisciplinary collectives living in France or abroad, with no age limit and who can demonstrate a professional practice, either emerging or established.

Required selection criteria: creative research projects will seek to explore the links between art, environment, and society and to propose sustainable solutions to respond to the climate transition challenges, or to revisit vernacular practices in a dynamic of innovation and hybridization.

Residents are expected to develop a project primarily focused on the local area: whether this involves collaborations and/or attention to local resources (natural and human, artisanal, or industrial).

• Duration : from 1 to 4 months in accordance with the project considered (production, research)
• Residents are granted an allocation enabling them if needed to call upon expert or craftsman know-how in order to carry out their project
• The resident commits to a restitution of his/her research, open to the public, at the end of the residence.
• A duo or collective applications can be submitted if a common research work justifies such a grouping
• Monthy allowance of 1 500 euros , of which an 800 euro research grant and a 700 euro stipend for daily living expenses
• Access to the “Ateliers du Faire”, production workshops (glass, ceramics, wood, textile, screen printing, etc…)
• Personalised support from the residency and production coordinator and by in-house glassblowers
• Production budget established according to the project
• Shared accomodation

The application file must include mandatory documents :

• A motivation letter / note of intent (5 pages max) explaining the project and its research directions, its procedures, the use of the workshops and technical needs as well as the desired dates and duration of the residency.
• A curriculum vitae (2 pages max)
• A portfolio or website link, representative of the candidate’s approach and works
• A timetable
• A provisional budget  detailing material needed during the residency.
  Budget to specify the volume of items considered.