The Residency
Art Elfouly Residency.
Art Elfouly Residency is an international artist residency program created to support artists through creativity, cultural exchange and immersive artistic experiences. Held twice a year inside a private French château, it offers a rare and inspiring environment in which to develop new ideas, produce new works and connect with a global creative community.
Through carefully curated experiences, dedicated creative spaces and meaningful conversations, the residency encourages artistic exploration and personal growth — a place where practice, place and company come together with unusual composure.
A residency, quietly considered
An international program with the intimacy of a private house.
Twelve artists each season. Two seasons a year. Every application is read personally by the curatorial council, without hurry and without algorithm.
Our mission
An international house, open to every discipline.
Art Elfouly hosts artists of all disciplines — visual artists, writers, photographers, filmmakers, musicians and those whose practice refuses a single name — for residencies of two to four weeks. English is the working language of the house, and duo artists are welcome to apply as a pair.
Our purpose is to create an international environment where every artist is welcome: a safe place to explore, contemplate and share ideas. We emphasise the human experience and the creative process over the finished object — the residency is self-motivated, and the end product is never the principal measure of a season.
New surroundings revitalise the creative mind. Artists who immerse themselves in the rhythm of French country life find that the things they thought they knew at home begin to look different. Limited distraction, generous food and an abundance of natural inspiration — this is the whole of our method.
More information
How the house actually works.
Accommodation
Fourteen bedrooms and four kitchens across the main château, the gate house, the hill house and the small garden cottage, alongside a salon that doubles as a shared working room. Rooms are assigned by availability, though a preference told to us in advance is usually honoured.
Studio space
Your working space is chosen around your needs. Sometimes the studio itself is enough; sometimes we find a room, a barn or a stretch of garden that better reflects the project. It is decided together, on arrival.
Open studio
An open studio is arranged at the close of each residency for those who wish to take part. We rarely show work made elsewhere, but if an existing piece belongs beside what you have made here, propose it and we will consider it for the hang.
Advisory council
Applications are read and selected by our advisory council — practising artists and curators who understand the ethics and aesthetics of the house. Every file is read personally, without hurry and without algorithm.
Bring your companion
It is difficult to be in France and not share it with someone you love. Tell us in advance and we will prepare the room and any extra bedding. An accompanying guest is charged at sixty percent of your own rate.
Independence & funding
Art Elfouly is a private, independent residency without external funding. Income from the estate is reinvested into artists' projects, allowing us to support a limited number of funded places each year. We gladly write letters of acceptance for grant applications.
Getting here
The estate lies roughly three hours from Paris, in a village counted among the most beautiful in its region. The nearest station is twenty-five minutes away by private car, and every arrival is met.
Terms
The house cannot take responsibility for the storage or shipping of work left behind after a residency closes. Arrangements for crating and transport are made gladly, but always in advance.