2025 Recanati-Kaplan Prize

Villa Albertine, in partnership with the Institut du monde arabe and the Recanati-Kaplan Foundation, are pleased to launch the call for applications for the 2024 Recanati-Kaplan Prize to support artistic and intellectual exchange between the United States, France, and the Arab world.

For the third year in a row, the Recanati-Kaplan Prize will be awarded to one creator, cultural expert or scholar from the Arab world, who seeks to carry out an original research project in the fields of arts and ideas that requires an immersive stay in the United States.

The winner will receive:
the opportunity to participate in a two-month exploratory residency in a US city supported by Villa Albertine in the fall of 2025 a $15,000 grant

Applications must be submitted by November 12, 2024, 11:59 p.m. (Paris time).

Applicant Profiles
Applications are open to any creator, cultural expert, or scholar from the Arab world proposing an original research project in the realm of arts and ideas that would require an immersive visit to the United States.
Each applicant will have to propose a residency project on a theme of their choice, focusing on contemporary issues affecting the United States and one or more countries in the Arab world.
Applicants must hold the nationality of one of the following countries: Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, or Yemen.
Applicants must be fluent in English.
Applicants must be available in the future to complete a two-month residency in the fall of 2024 (i.e. at any time between the months of September and December 2024).
Applications may only be submitted on an individual basis. Group applications shall not be accepted.
Applicants must be at least 21 years of age prior to the proposed start date of their residency.
Applicants must be able to adapt to potential constraints of their proposed residency location. For example, it is strongly advised that they hold a driver’s license if traveling to large metropolitan areas, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Residency Location
Candidates are asked to set their residency in a territory that makes sense in terms of the themes they wish to explore. The residency project can focus on the city of their choice. The winner will be accompanied by Villa Albertine’s nearest office amongst the ten cities in which it is based.
The residency shall take place in one of Villa Albertine’s ten cities. The resident will develop their project in conjunction with the region and the locals living in their chosen city.
The cities where Villa Albertine has established a permanent office are: Atlanta, GA; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Houston, TX; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; New York, NY; New Orleans, LA; San Francisco, CA; and Washington, DC.

Residency Project Type
Applicants are advised to propose their exploratory residency project within a US city that would foster original artistic or intellectual reflection not likely to be developed elsewhere.
The concept of the exploratory residency project should not be thought of as indoor desk work, but rather as a field investigation that inspires and builds new connections. The project’s value lies in its relationship to the location. As such, meetings, visits, events, and exchanges will all help enrich the work carried out.
Proposed projects must address a societal issue that resonates both in the United States and the Arab world.
The residency is not limited to one specific form, e.g. material art, as would be the case with a production-based residency.
All disciplines related to the arts, culture, and ideas are welcome: visual arts, design, architecture, performing arts, music, cinema, digital creation, fiction writing, comics, social sciences, etc.

Support from Villa Albertine
A schedule of meetings, visits, and events shall be drawn up for the resident, in accordance with their project and requirements. Villa Albertine will support the resident by offering its expert knowledge of the local artistic and cultural scene, as well as putting the resident in contact with its network of partners.
Villa Albertine will cover program-related travel and living expenses through the following arrangements:
A residency stipend for daily living expenses, calculated according to the local cost of living (e.g. $100 per day in Chicago);
Round-trip travel to the US from the resident’s home country;
Accommodation;
Car rental, if necessary, depending on the proposed location;
Health, civil liability, and repatriation insurance.

Villa Albertine cannot cover any costs other than the above-mentioned travel and living expenses.