MAD Salon+Lab

Exploratory Residency

Residency brief

The Mumbai Architecture & Design (MAD) Salon + Lab was conceived in 2010 as a place to bring together experts and enthusiasts to debate contemporary issues in nation-building through the lens of architecture and design. It operates as a Salon and a Lab to foster exploratory projects at the intersection of the arts, sciences, and humanities. It is the brainchild of spaceship designer Susmita Mohanty and her partner Siddharth Das. They share a passion for graphic novels as a storytelling medium and art form. Susmita was introduced to the French bande dessinée scene while studying in Strasbourg in 1996, so they chose to collaborate with Institut Français en Inde to realize their dream of hosting a MAD Graphic Novel Residency.

The residency is aimed at graphic novelists and comics artists who wish to engage with the city of Bangalore in particular and India at large, to develop a new body of work. The MAD co-founders Susmita and Siddharth will facilitate the residency candidate’s interactions with the social, cultural and intellectual milieu of the city and help them develop their project further through their networks.

  • Thematic focus Literature (Graphic novels / Comic books)
  • LocationBangalore (Karnataka)
  • Dates August 2026
  • Length of stay 4 weeks

Our Space

The residency is located in Bangalore, the capital of the Karnataka state, in south India. Widely known as the Silicon Valley of India, Bangalore is home to scientists, innovators, entrepreneurs, artists, writers and thinkers from all over the country. It has a vibrant cultural, social and intellectual life.

The residency is located in the leafy neighbourhood of Cox Town, created during British colonial times. It is home to colourful markets, old and new buildings, schools, temples and churches. The quiet and tree-lined streets are pleasantly walkable on foot, while the rest of the city is easily accessible by various modes of public transport - taxi, autorickshaw, metro and buses.

Daniele Pasin

Illustrator and Architect

My aim as a resident at Villa Swagatam Residency is to work on a specific part of the new collection « Histoires d’Architecture » that I am currently managing as art director and author (for one volume). I would use the residency as an opportunity to study Indian architecture, meeting local people and better understand Indian culture in order to develop one of these volumes in link with indian architecture.

Daniele Pasin (DANICOLLATERALE) is an Italian architect and artist based in Paris. In 2019, he published his first picture book ("Entre les lignes", Editions Sarbacane). Since then he has also been involved in illustration, animated videos and comics. In 2024, his first graphic novel about architecture got published in France (“Je suis charrette”, Editions Delcourt). The next one titled FLATLAND will be out in September 2025. His work got published by Los Angeles Times, Corriere della Sera, L'Express and Revue Dessinée. In 2023, he got a distinction in NAMI Concours (Korea).

Past Laureates

Second Edition (2024 - 2025)
Fabien Toulmé Graphic Novelist
First Edition (2023 - 2024)
Elsa Mroziewicz