news - villa arson nice

summer school of art practices In resonance with the becoming ocean exhibition

Du 8 au 12 juillet 2025, le Centre d'art de la Villa Arson invite les adolescents et adultes à participer à l'école d'été de pratiques en art Constellation subaquatique. Proposée par l’artiste Gil Lekh, cette école d'été est conçue comme un espace-temps d’apprentissage, de création et de partage. Durant cinq après-midi, les participantes et participants sont invités à développer leur singularité artistique en explorant des processus créatifs variés. Entièrement gratuit, cet événement est accessible sur inscription.

Gil Lekh, Winner of the First Edition of the Emergence Prize of the City of Beausoleil

On Thursday, May 15, 2025, the City of Beausoleil awarded Gil Lekh, artist-researcher graduated from Villa Arson, the first Emergence Prize – Villa Arson x City of Beausoleil. An artist-researcher based in Marseille, Gil Lekh draws inspiration from his diverse background: alternately a gymnast, construction worker, organizer of socio-cultural events, punk, researcher, activist, and climbing instructor.

Magnetic 4 residencies call for applications is now open

Magnetic is a Franco-UK initiative that brings together ten institutions in a program of artist residencies between France and the UK. Artists from one of five regions in France (Bretagne, Hauts-de-France, Île-de-France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, PACA) are invited to apply for the residency in the associated UK nation, and artists from each UK nation are invited to apply for the residency in the associated French region.

New Plein Sud Guide 2025

Villa Arson is a member of Plein Sud, the united and supportive network of key players in the visual arts world in the South of France. Through this new dynamic mapping stretching from Céret to Menton, passing through Sérignan, Sète, Montpellier, Avignon, Arles, Toulon, Hyères, Saint-Paul-de Vence, Nice or Monaco, Plein Sud aims to offer visitors a multitude of possible routes between our different structures.

Seven Villa Arson Graduates at 100% L’EXPO 2025

True to its ambition of promoting young creation, La Villette presents around forty artists recently graduated from French schools in 100% L'EXPO from April 10 to May 11, 2025. Seven artists graduated from Villa Arson have been selected to participate in this exhibition: Léo Dupré, Valentine Gardiennet, Emika Lannelongue, Carlota Sandoval-Lizarralde, Romain Ravera, Sofia Rocha Mondragon and Murphy Yum.

David Ritzinger x Inharmonic Orchestra Workshop

For its fifteenth anniversary, the Nice Inharmonic Orchestra organizes a concert featuring students from Villa Arson, the National School of Arts in Paris-Cergy, accompanied by the duo Hackedepicciotto. On this occasion, artist David Ritzinger and a team of students will produce screen-printed posters for the event during a workshop organized from April 28 to May 2, 2025.

Cross-Workshop with Ensa Paris Belleville and the National Dance Center

For the third year, Villa Arson is renewing its partnership with the National School of Architecture of Paris-Belleville (ENSA-PB), as part of a project that will take place at Villa Arson from April 4 to 13, and which this year also involves the National Dance Center in Pantin (CND).

Launch of the Collection ‘Scratching the surface’ (‘La surface démange’)

Villa Arson is pleased to announce the launch of the collection 'Scratching the surface' ('La surface démange') with the publication of two works: Alternative Pedagogical Spaces: From Utopia to Institutionalization by Anna Colin, and Feminism and Pedagogy at the Heart of Artistic Training: 40 Years of Experience by Griselda Pollock. These two works are also published in English in partnership with Sternberg Press – The MIT Press.

Residency: Winners of the Magnetic 3 Program

For its third edition, the Magnetic program has selected artist Emilia Beatriz for a residency at Villa Arson and Violaine Barrois for a residency at Cove Park.

Marie-Ann Yemsi, New Director of the Art Center

Sylvain Lizon, director of the EPA Villa Arson, is pleased to announce the appointment of Marie-Ann Yemsi as the director of the Villa Arson art center. The project led by Marie-Ann Yemsi for the Villa Arson art center is developed under the name "Creating World(s)", in the sense of "reaffirming the place of art as an essential and common good".

The Garden: Exhibition, Study Trip, Performance in Stuttgart

Students and graduates from the VIEM (Video/Moving Image led by Pia Maria Martin) and Klub16 (visual research and experimentation group focused on moving image led by Pia Maria Martin and Jean-Baptiste Ganne) courses have completed several projects on the theme of the garden in Stuttgart.

Villa Arson on the Path to Ecological Transition

In December 2024, the innovative Classe Climat program was launched at Villa Arson. Designed for Villa Arson staff, this course aims to train employees on the challenges of ecological transition and to find concrete solutions to reduce Villa Arson's environmental footprint.

Gil Lekh, Winner of the Miramar 2024 Program

Winner of the Miramar 2024 residency program, Gil Lekh, a 2023 graduate of Villa Arson, is in residence at Le 18, Marrakech from October 11 to November 22, 2024.

Publication of Bruno Pélassy’s Monograph

Villa Arson co-publishes, with Mousse Publishing, Haus der Waldsee and Air de Paris, the first monograph dedicated to the artist Bruno Pélassy (1966-2002).

Brigitte Louter

Laureate of a three-months residency at Villa Arson in Nice (between September 15 and December 14, 2025), Brigitte Louter (1996, NL) is a visual artist based in Amsterdam. During this residency, the artist will work in the art school's technical workshops to create a series of objects inspired by the form and function of industrial bellows, which protect the moving parts of machines.

Emilia Beatriz

La Villa Arson accueille en résidence l’artiste Emilia Beatriz dans le cadre du programme Magnetic 3 développé par Fluxus Art Projects. Emilia Beatriz est un·e artiste de la diaspora portoricaine vivant à Glasgow en Écosse dont la pratique multidisciplinaire est basée sur des récits sensoriels composés d'images fixes et animées, de textes, d'installations immersives et de performances.

Carla Barkatz, Winner of the 2024 Essentiel·les Award

Carla Barkatz, a 2020 graduate of Villa Arson, is the winner of the 2024 Essentiel·les MIP - VILLA ARSON Award. This pilot program aims to support emerging creation by giving Villa Arson alumni the opportunity to innovatively experiment with the relationships between artistic creation, sensory dimension, and scientific research.

Rama Alashqar

Villa Arson welcomes Rama Alashqar in residence from January 16, 2025 to May 15, 2025. Rama Alashqar is a laureate of the new SAWA SAWA (“Together”) residency program run by the Institut français de Jérusalem, which aims to support the Palestinian art scene in times of conflict. She uses paper and silicone to create forms whose appearance and texture are similar to human skin.

Marta Ferro

Lauréate du Nouveau Grand Tour, Marta Ferro est en résidence à la Villa Arson du 16 janvier au 28 mars 2024, avec le soutien de l’Institut Culturel Italien de Paris. Marta Ferro est une artiste italienne basée à Milan, dont la recherche explore la relation entre la figure humaine et l’abstraction picturale.

Tanin Torabi

Villa Arson welcomes Iranian choreographer, dancer and director, Tanin Torabi, in residence from September 2, 2024 to August 31, 2025. Made with the support of the Collège de France, this residency will enable Tanin Torabi to pursue her choreographic research through performance and film projects. With over ten years of experience in dance filmmaking, she's described by critics as “pushing the boundaries of screendance”.