• January 22, 2026 at 9:30 am: information webinar 

An information webinar is organized to present Villa Kujoyama's residency program, its selection process and answer questions from applicants. To participate, candidates are invited to register.

Register for the webinar

• February 03, 2026: Opening of the IFPROG application platform.

The platform will close as soon as 250 applications have been received.

When compiling applications, candidates are invited to read the application regulations. Only complete applications meeting the requirements of the rules will be considered. Applications in "draft" mode will not be considered. Any misrepresentation will automatically render the application null and void. The candidate will receive an acknowledgement of receipt by email once the file has been sent

• March - April 2026 : Pre-selection.

All candidates will receive an email indicating the outcome of their application the week of May 4.

• May 18-29, 2026 : Auditions for shortlisted candidates.
• Late June 2026 : Final jury.
• Mid-July 2026 : Announcement of results. 

Each candidate auditioned will be personally informed of the results. 

Candidates take note that the decisions of the final jury are final.

- In Solo : one French or foreign candidate residing in France for at least 5 years presents a research project, for a residency of 4, 5 or 6 months

- In Binôme : two French or foreign candidates residing in France for at least 5 years present a joint project, for a 4-month residency*.

- In French-Japanese duo: a French or foreign candidate residing in France for at least 5 years in collaboration with a Japanese candidate residing in Japan present a joint research project, for a 4-month residency.

*In the case of arts and sciences duo or binomial applications by a creator and a scientist: the duration of the residency will be 4 months for the creator and can be chosen between 1, 2, 3 or 4 months for the scientist.

• Architecture / Landscape / Urban planning
• Street arts / Circus / Puppetry
• Digital creation (digital arts, video games, VR)
• Plastic arts
• Comic books
• Film (Animation / Creative documentary / Video art)
• Art criticism and curating
• Dance / Performance
• Design / Graphic design
• Culinary arts / Gastronomy
• Literature (fiction / essays / children's literature / comics)
• Art professions
• Fashion
• Music (Classical Music/Contemporary Music/Current Music/Jazz)
• Photography
• Theater
• Science

The selection process is open to Arts and Science duos and pairs. Projects submitted in this category must necessarily associate a scientist from the natural or formal sciences with a creator from one of the artistic disciplines listed above. The humanities and social sciences are not included in the "arts and sciences" pairings and duos category.

In the case of multidisciplinary projects, candidates are invited to apply in the discipline in which they are professionally recognized. For candidates in pairs or duos, it is possible to select two disciplines on the submission form. 

Applicants may express preferences regarding the dates of residencies. The Institut Français Residences Department and the Villa Kujoyama team reserve the right to adapt the period requested and its duration to the availability of accommodation and the 2027 activity calendar. Stays cannot be split up or postponed to the following year, except in cases of force majeure as defined in the residency contract signed between the Institut français and the laureate.

Villa Kujoyama is located in Kyoto. It features 6 duplex studio apartments of 64m² each with a fully-equipped kitchen, bathroom and two single beds. Each winner benefits from a studio apartment. 
The studio apartments at Villa Kujoyama are exclusively dedicated to artistic research. Spouses of laureates may be accommodated at Villa Kujoyama. However, laureates wishing to host their children will be required to provide their own accommodation outside Villa Kujoyama, while retaining their studio to work in at the residence. Additional lump-sum financial support will be provided.

Common areas:

• The multi-purpose room with parquet flooring is equipped with audiovisual equipment (5mx2.80m screen, video projector, mac, microphones and speakers) and a tuned piano. This 90m² room is suitable for dance, theater, music, cinema screenings and conferences.
• The Galerie Pierre Bergé (Hall) enables prizewinners to receive outside visitors.
• The reading room is equipped with a library of laureates' works since 1992, a laser printer/scanner, an A3 inkjet printer and a double-light scanner.

Flight France-Osaka : 

The Institut français will pay for a round-trip air ticket at a cost of 1,400 euros. 

Residency allowances : 

For residences in solo, the monthly residency allowance is 2,100 euros. 

For residences in duoor duo, the monthly residency allowance is €1,600 per person.

As Villa Kujoyama is unable to accommodate children, laureates wishing to come with their families must stay outside (they keep their studio to work in). To take account of this additional expense, a monthly allowance of 700 euros is provided. 

Ahead of the residency, a meeting takes place to consider initial contacts and avenues of research to be pursued as soon as the laureate arrives in Kyoto. 

During the residency, the Villa Kujoyama team accompanies the artists, creators and scientists according to the needs of their project and its development.

At the end of the residency, the link between Villa Kujoyama, the Résidences department of the Institut français in Paris and the laureate may continue, depending on the needs of the project.

If the laureate requires assistance with day-to-day living, a concierge service independent of Villa Kujoyama may be requested at the laureate's own expense.

Step 1: Check eligibility requirements

• Professional experience : 
  - Be a graduate and have been involved in a professional approach for at least 5 years (references to be provided in the artistic dossier); no age limit ; 
  - Be an artist, a creator of the above disciplines or a scientist in a duo or binomial with an artist; 
  - Be free from professional activity throughout the residency period. 
   
• Nationality / residency: 
  - For solo or duo applications: possess French nationality or have resided in France for at least 5 years 
  - For duo applications: possess Japanese nationality and reside in Japan for one of the candidates, possess French nationality or have resided in France for at least 5 years for the other. 
   
• Cumuls : 
  - Not have been a laureate of the Villa Kujoyama program; 
  - Not have received a grant from the French Institute in Paris for the same project, during the same year. 
  - For the same project, simultaneous application is possible with individual creation grants (AIC) from DRAC, CNAP, etc. In the event of a favorable decision, only one of these grants may be awarded. 
  - If the application has been unsuccessful for two consecutive years (since 2024), a minimum period of 1 year is required before a new application can be submitted 
  - Submitting several applications is not permitted. It entails de facto the deletion of all applications from the same candidate. 

Step 2: Participate in the information webinar on January 22, 2026 at 9:30 am (optional).

During the webinar, Villa Kujoyama's residency program and its selection process will be presented, followed by a sequence to answer candidates' questions. 

Register for the webinar

Step 3: Register

• Create an account on the French Institute website
• Using the registered email address and password, log in to IFPROG
• Click on : "déposer un nouveau dossier"
• Click on: "Villa Kujoyama 2027"

Step 4: Submit your application (Opening of the submission platform on February 03, 2026)

Fill in the form directly on the IFPROG platform:

• For a Franco-Japanese duo or French binomial application, one of the two candidates will carry the application, the information concerning the second candidate will be indicated in the "partner" field under the "project holder" heading.
• The "Science/Research" category only applies to applications from art and science pairs. A solo application cannot be part of the "Sciences / Research" discipline. 

Submit the requested documents on the IFPROG platform: 

• An artistic dossier or portfolio including texts, visuals and video links, enabling the candidate's artistic background to be appreciated. All works presented must be credited, including co-authors where applicable;
• A detailed CV with full contact details (postal address, e-mail, telephone) and date of birth;
• Two letters of recommendation from recognized institutions, structures or professionals in the artistic discipline. In the case of a duo, it is possible to send two letters addressed to the duo, or two letters per candidate. The letters must be merged into a single document. No more than one letter of recommendation may be submitted. The letters of recommendation may be dated from the previous year, in the event, for example, that the application is submitted for two consecutive years;
• A presentation file of the artistic project specifying the reasons for the application, the nature of the research project, the correlation with the location, the duration of the stay and the planned follow-up to the project (maximum 5 pages, including illustrations) ;
• A document contact and protocol mentioning the references of the institutions and personalities contacted for the conduct of the research project in Japan. This document may also include a list of professionals and institutions that the candidate may wish to contact at a later date. This document must also detail the planned working protocol.
• A attestation sur l'honneur certifying: That you have read the general conditions (this document); That you are the sole author of the works mentioned in your application file. In the opposite case, you must name the co-authors; That you will be free from your professional activities for the duration of the stay.

Applicants in a duo or binomial are invited to attach their CVs on a joint document that may include several pages. The same applies to artistic files and letters of recommendation. 

Enclosure titles must not contain spaces or accented characters, and the total weight of the application file must not exceed 200 MB. 

Drafts are not counted. An application is submitted once you have clicked on the "Send my application" button. You will then receive an acknowledgement of receipt and the status of the application on the IFPROG platform will appear as "submitted". If you do not receive the confirmation email, please check your spam folder.

After submitting your application, we recommend that you download the submission statement to check that all the required information is included on the form and that all the requested documents have been attached. If this is not the case, we recommend that you write without delay to villakujoyama@institutfrancais.com

Only complete applications meeting the conditions required by the regulations will be taken into account. Any misrepresentation will automatically invalidate the application. 

Closing date for applications: As soon as 250 applications have been submitted.

1 - Excellence of career (5/20)

Villa Kujoyama emphasizes the excellence of its artists and the multidisciplinary nature of its program.

Study of CV, artistic portfolio and letters of recommendation attesting to the artist's career and recognition by the art scene to which he or she belongs (artistic prizes, participation in major artistic events, collaborations with recognized venues).

For candidates in the métiers d'art discipline, mastery of a specific skill is required; any document attesting to this mastery may be attached to the artistic file.

For scientists working in pairs or duos with an artist, designer or creator, a dossier attesting to the soundness of the scientific background and any research conducted in the natural or formal sciences may be attached in place of the artistic dossier.

2 - Excellence and relevance of the proposed project (10/20)

Study of the artistic quality, relevance and uniqueness of the project with regard to the French and Japanese scenes, but also how this project fits into the candidate's artistic career. 

The evaluation of the project will be based on the intentions described by the artist. The feasibility of the project will also be assessed, with Villa Kujoyama reserving the right not to host projects it is unable to support.

3 - Need for a residency in Kyoto (5/20)

Villa Kujoyama works for intercultural dialogue between France and Japan through the many collaborations forged with the Japanese network in academic, artistic, cultural, craft and scientific circles. 

The selected projects demonstrate the need to visit Japan, and Kansai in particular. A working protocol already in place, as well as links already established with Japanese professionals or the artist's demonstrated willingness to meet Japanese professionals, institutions and artists, will be positively evaluated.

The final jury will pay particular attention to inclusion, diversity and gender parity among the selected applications. Projects with an eco-responsible scope are strongly encouraged.

The pre-selection committee evaluates all eligible applications and makes an initial pre-selection. Meeting in committees by discipline, it interviews the shortlisted candidates, according to the discipline indicated in the application file. It forwards its opinion to the final jury. 

The pre-selection committee is made up of:

• The director of Villa Kujoyama
• Sector experts from the French Institute
• Sector experts from the French Institute of Japan
• The Residences division of the French Institute
• Qualified personalities in the relevant disciplines

The final jury designates the 2026 Villa Kujoyama winners.

It is composed of:

• The director of Villa Kujoyama - president of the jury
• A representative of the French Institute

A representative of the French Embassy in Japan

• A representative of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs
• A representative of the Ministry of Culture
• Two qualified personalities 

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