La Napoule Art Foundation x Prameya Art Foundation

Exploratory residency, Group residency with international residents

Residency brief

Prameya Art Foundation (PRAF) is a not-for-profit initiative based in New Delhi whose aim is to support emerging artists and curators, as well as to encourage experimental practices and trans-disciplinary collaborations in South Asia.

Art Scribes 2025 is designed as an annual art writer’s award, an eminent, rotating jury consisting of art critics and curators is assigned the task of choosing an applicant who has demonstrated a sustained commitment to research, conceptual frameworks and art history in their writing practice, as the recipient of the award. Applications are received via open call as opposed to nominations to ensure equal opportunity.

The chosen writer is awarded an international curatorial residency in partnership with La Napoule Art Foundation (LNAF) at Chateau La Napoule in order to help demonstrate his/her/their critical acumen in curatorial research. La Napoule Art Foundation offers time and space for creative minds to engage in cultural interchange and meaningful work that impacts the world for the greater good. In addition to using this time to explore new ideas and develop their work, residents are expected to take every opportunity, especially mealtimes, to build community and friendship as well as to exchange ideas and experiences.

Research and writing produced during this time will ultimately lead to an exhibition curated by the resident and coordinated by Prameya Art Foundation in New Delhi, a year after the residency.

  • Thematic focus Critical writing, Curatorial practice
  • Location Château de La Napoule
  • Dates March 2026
  • Length of stay 1 month

Our Space

The Château de La Napoule has a long and storied history. While the site was first discovered by the Romans over 2,000 years ago, during the medieval era, a fortress was then erected on the site, which itself was destroyed and rebuilt several times.

In 1918, it was bought by the American couple Henry and Marie Clews who spent 17 years transforming this building into an artistic retreat. Marie worked as the architect and landscape designer – adding a turreted gate house, tall ramparts, seaside terraces, and acres of gardens. Henry continued his sculpture and adorned each capital, crevice, and column with mythical creatures. Today, LNAF continues Henry and Marie’s dream by inviting artists to discover for themselves the “creative spirit” that’s still alive at La Napoule. The geographical location of the Château de la Napoule, situated on the shores of the Mediterranean, in the heart of a region rich in cultures and historical and artistic testimonies, makes it an ideal haven for creators.

Sajid Wajid Shaikh

Visual artist

During my residency, I would like to explore the works of Henry Clews Jr. and engage in a posthumous dialogue with his legacy through the Henry Clews Memorial Collection at La Napoule Art Foundation. I hope to draw inspiration from his practice while also engaging with local ceramic and porcelain traditions, expanding my sculptural explorations through this exchange.

Sajid Wajid Shaikh (b. 1989) is an experimental artist based between Mumbai and Aurangabad, India. His practice treats the artist as a scribe, documenting the complexities of our time. Drawing from memories of communal violence and the unease of minority life in India, he explores the intersection of politics, horror, and the grotesque. Through hybridized forms and assemblages made from everyday objects, he examines displacement, alienation, and the disquieting—transforming the familiar into unsettling reflections on power, vulnerability, and resistance.

Past Laureates

Second Edition (2024 - 2025)
Annalisa Mansukhani Writer