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Arts residencies

The French Institute of Cambodia supports artistic creation and cultural exchanges between Europe and Asia, as well as those between countries in Southeast Asia. In addition to occasional artistic residencies linked to the cultural seasons organized at the French Institute, where French artists are invited to participate in the development of exhibitions, several artistic residencies are possible throughout the year at the Villa Marguerite Duras, a writing residency in Cambodia, as well as two cross-residency programs in Thailand and Vietnam, with the program La Route des Résidences.

Villa Marguerite Duras

A "femme de lettres" who won the Prix Goncourt in 1984 for “L’amant”, Marguerite Duras has brilliantly invested herself in many fields, literature, cinema, theatre, journalism, and even writing for young people. Committed to many causes: feminism, the fight against the Algerian War, demanding the right to abortion, she is now one of the most studied authors, some of her texts having been translated into more than 35 languages. We would like to pay her a new tribute by naming the Phnom Penh writing residency after her.

This writing residency programme is one of the IFC’s flagship events. Each year, it welcomes 3 authors in residence for a period of 4 to 8 weeks. This new writing residency contributes to strengthening the IFC’s support for writing, translation and publishing, already committed to partners such as Sipar and the Cambodian Book Fair.

The objective is to encourage the emergence of a new dynamic around writing, in line with today’s Cambodia, and to amplify the local emergence of the publishing sector, for a better influence of both French culture and language. Defending and supporting books, the leading French cultural industry, is indeed a real educational and intercultural challenge, in a country where the majority of the population is under 30.

La Route des Résidences (Vietnam - Cambodge & Thaïlande - Cambodge)

“La Route des résidences” cross-residency program is co-organized by the French Institute of Cambodia, the French Institute of Vietnam and the Alliance française of Chiang Mai. It offers several artistic residencies throughout the year, particularly writing and photography. Its objective is to promote the circulation of artists and ideas in a regional approach; to stimulate creative work nourished by broader intercultural relations; to offer the laureates varied places of work and residence, from the large cities of the Mekong to the Vietnamese, Thai and Cambodian countryside; to encourage encounters with distinct audiences and with diverse local artistic scenes; and finally to allow the creation of unique works, at the crossroads of four countries and cultures.

This program benefits from the support of the Fabrique des Résidences of the French Institute of Paris and “La Petite Escalère” endowment fund, partner of the Villa Marguerite Duras.

The mission of "La Petite Escalère" endowment fund is to promote and encourage contemporary artistic experimentation and creation in all its forms. "La Petite Escalère" supports and assists creators and cultural organizations in the context of artist residencies, publications and editions, exhibitions, installations and productions, etc. "La Petite Escalère" also provides assistance to projects and structures whose objective is to promote access to culture for all – young people, vulnerable audiences, isolated or far from the cultural offering. The endowment fund supported "La Petite Escalère" sculpture garden (2011 – 2020) and created and financed the Sculpture Nature editorial platform (2014 – 2019).