An Artists’ Haven in the South of France
In the South of France, just west of Cannes, a 14th-century chateau—overlooking the sea and surrounded by six acres of gardens—has become a highly sought-after haven for artists. Home to the American nonprofit La Napoule Art Foundation (LNAF), the historic Château de La Napoule has hosted artist-in-residence programs for over 60 years; notably, their 2013 residency “Beyond Sandy” offered respite to New York artists in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Among them, photographer and video artist Janet Biggs was chosen as part of LNAF’s partnership with Moving Image New York, which granted one Moving Image participant a spot on the coveted roster.
“A residency, especially one in a chateau on the French Riviera, is the stuff of artists’ dreams,” Biggs said, who spent her summer in France (a welcomed reprieve after Sandy left her two months sans central heat and minus six of her artworks, lost in a gallery flood) interviewing other artists and recording their accounts of the storm. It was an ideal project to succeed Point of No Return, the video she unveiled at Moving Image New York in 2013, which was shot in the Taklamakan Desert and a livestock market in Kashgar, China, and according to Winkleman Gallery, “focuse[d] on individuals in the face of cultural loss or change.”
This year, LNAF and Moving Image New York will again offer all Moving Image artists—past and present—the chance to apply for a one-month residency at Château de La Napoule. In advance of the deadline (April 1st) preview the current Moving Image fair on Artsy and spend an afternoon at New York City’s Waterfront Tunnel to get to know the exhibitors. And be sure to keep up with La Napoule Art Foundation to find out which token artist will soon pack their bags for an immersive summer at the romantic artists’ hideaway.
Images courtesy of La Napoule Art Foundation:
Views of the Château and sunrise as seen from the Château by Bruce Keyes; Henry Clews’s Studio; Janet Biggs (LNAF ’13) working in her tower studio, overlooking the Mediterranean; Kathy Bruce (LNAF ’12) working on Octopus Haus in Chateau Courtyard; Michael Gadlin (LNAF ’12) in the White Gallery; John Gordon Gauld (LNAF '13) outside his studio; Will Clift (LNAF ’11) working in the Tomb Tower Studio.
