L'OFFICIEL explores five of the top emerging global programs.

Artist residencies offer more than just a change of scenery.

Artist working at Castle Caramel.

The desire to create is stronger now more than ever, but like many of us, artists are getting cabin fever. Artist residencies have long provided refuge for creatives to distance themselves from distractions, discover a new culture, and focus on their work. Even amidst the pandemic, residencies have maintained as hubs for creative discovery, and a number of newer institutions are establishing their own artistic footprint. Here, learn more about five emerging global artist residencies.

Castel Caramel Castillon, France, Founded in 2018 “The Côte d’Azur has always had an interesting art scene but one that is almost strictly institutional,” explains collector and advisor Maria-Theresia Pongracz. “I launched Castel Caramel because I wanted to add a layer to this landscape by creating an opportunity for interactions between living artists and the community.” Since its founding in 2018, the program has done just this, hosting artists like Chloe Wise and Jill Mulleady for summer-long sojourns. The artists’ extended stays in luxurious accommodations provide ample chance for dinners, curator conversations, and spontaneous encounters with the locals to emerge. Inspired by Viennese artist Ernst Fuchs, the one-time owner of the estate in which the residency is housed and Pongracz’s mentor, the residency’s ambitions are not proprietary. In fact, rather than draw attention to Fuchs’ legacy, the founder hopes to cultivate a new generation of patrons in the region who can use Castel Caramel as a kind of clubhouse for furthering an agenda of community-building around contemporary art.