Announcement of the 2026 Villa Kujoyama residents

Meeting on July 7, 2025, the final selection jury of Villa Kujoyama selected 13 projects led by 18 artists, who will be hosted in residence for a period of 4 to 6 months in Kyoto in 2026:

• Charlie AUBRY and Yasmine TANDJAOUI / Contre Productions, in the fields of Visual Arts and Architecture / Landscape / Urban Planning, for a 4-month residency

• Sasha BAYDAL / Swirling Memories. A non-linear gaze connecting Eastern Europe, Northeast Asia, and Japan in the field of Exhibition Curation, for a 6-month residency

• Isabelle DAËRON / Chikasui, in the field of Design, for a 5-month residency

• Hélène DELÉAN and Clément CAIGNART / N88DL, in the field of Digital Art, for a 4-month residency

• Diane DUFOUR / FALLEN FROM GRACE – Desire and Transgression in Postwar Japanese Illustrated Press, in the field of Exhibition Curation, for a 6-month residency

• Claire LANGE and Lucie ROY / Meeting Kansai Chefs / A Kaiseki Menu, Tribute to the Seasons / Imagining a New Art of the Table, in the field of Crafts, for a 4-month residency

• Aurélie LANOISELÉE / Preserving the Ephemeral, in the field of Crafts, for a 5-month residency

• Marcel MREJEN / Gigan (義眼), in the field of Cinema, for a 4-month residency

• Victoire THIERRÉE / Into the Fog (Dans le Brouillard), in the field of Visual Arts, for a 6-month residency

• Rebecca TOPAKIAN / From Ararat to Fujiyama (after Artsvin Grigoryan), in the field of Photography, for a 5-month residency

• Élise VIGNERON and Azusa TAKEUCHI / Research on “mono no aware” through the exploration of transforming materials, in the fields of Street Arts / Circus / Puppetry and Dance, for a 4-month residency

• Baudouin WOEHL and Daphné BIIGA NWANAK / Practicing Itinerant Singing in Japan: Between Performance and Disabled Aesthetics, in the field of Theater, for a 4-month residency

• Raphaël ZARKA / Parallel Perspectives – Masakazu Horiuti and the Use of Geometrical Figures in Japanese Arts, in the field of Visual Arts, for a 4-month residency

In addition, Villa Kujoyama and Institut français have selected two laureates of the Liliane Bettencourt Prize for the Intelligence of the Hand®, who will be invited for 1-month residency at Villa Kujoyama in 2026:

• Karl MAZLO / Crafts – Jewelry

• Grégory ROSENBLAT / Crafts – Porcelain

The 2026 call for applications was open to French artists and creators, as well as foreign artists and creators who have been residing in France for at least five years; or to Japanese artists residing in Japan applying as a duo with French or foreign artists/creators who have been living in France for at least five years. Applicants were required to propose an original and distinctive research project that needed an immersion and research stay in Japan.

This year, the call for applications was also open to scientists applying as a duo or pair with artists.

A numerus clausus limited the number of applications to 250, representing a total of 278 artists and creators.

The pre-selection committee was composed of:

• The Deputy Director of Villa Kujoyama

• The Residencies Service and disciplinary experts from the Institut français

• Disciplinary experts from the French Ministry of Culture

• Discplinary experts from the Institut français du Japon

• Qualified professionals based in France and Japan

The final Franco-Japanese jury, chaired by the Deputy Director of Villa Kujoyama, Adèle Fremolle, was composed of:

• Mathieu Fournet, Cultural Advisor and Director General of the Institut français du Japon, and Samson Sylvain, Cultural Attaché at the Institut français du Japon – representatives of the French Embassy in Japan

• Chloé Fricout, Head of the Residencies Service, and Julie Ferrif, Project Officer at the Residencies Service– representatives of the Institut français

• Corinne Sentou, Project Manager for Economy and Prospecting – representative of the Ministry of Culture

• Reiko Setsuda, Curator at the Hermès Foundation

• Aya Soejima, Independent Performing Arts Expert

Photo © Frédéric Méry / Institut français