Prakriti Foundation Residency

Production residency

Residency brief

Prakriti Foundation was founded in Chennai in 1998 to host events enquiring into cultural heritage and inheritance in order to change and enlarge the cultural scene of Chennai. Since its creation, Prakriti has been a free space where scholars, researchers, artists, critics, poets and filmmakers could present their work to those who engage with it on serious terms. The Foundation organizes four festivals and events across various performing and non-performing art forms, among which are lecture demonstrations, poetry readings, film screenings, and intimate performances.

The French Institute in India is one of the major supporters of the Prakriti Excellence in Contemporary Dance Awards (PECDA), a national-level biennial award for contemporary dance (one-of-a-kind in South Asia). PECDA is a platform for Indian contemporary dance forms, exposing artists to a wider audience and network. With Villa Swagatam, French practitioners will be able to experience this vivid scene, and discover and engage with new, emerging forms of expression, which weave their own language and grammar in India.The French Institute in India is currently one of the major supporters of the Prakriti Excellence in Contemporary Dance Awards (PECDA), a national-level biennial award for contemporary dance which became through the years a platform for Indian contemporary dance forms, exposing artists to a wider audience and network.

The residency offered under the umbrella of Villa Swagatam is a unique opportunity to experience the local traditions of Tamil Nadu in the fields of literature, poetry and performing arts, and engage with forms of expression which weave their own language and grammar in India. The residency is designed for writers, poets, performers, spoken word artists, theater practitioners or any professional engaging with the text in a performative approach.

  • Thematic focus Literature, Poetry, Spoken words, Performing arts
  • Location Chennai or Nagapattinam (Tamil Nadu)
  • Dates Between October 2024 and February 2025
  • Length of stay 2 to 3 months
  • Apply Now

Our Space

According to the nature of the selected project, the residency will either take place in Chennai - the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state – or Nagapattinam – in a refurbished heritage home located at the heart of the region, in a quiet agrarian village. The resident can choose to spend his time in either of the spaces or both.

Residency conditions

  • The resident will be provided with on-site accommodation, which includes a studio apartment in Gemini Parsn Apartments (Chennai) or a homestay in Mangala Heritage (Nagapattinam).
  • The resident will be provided by the Residency with three meals a day. There will be arrangements for tea/coffee in the room itself.
  • The residents’ travel costs to and from their home address will be covered by the French Institute in India.
  • The resident should be willing to give up to 20% of his/her residency time to participate in various public engagement events such as talks, performances, workshops, open studio, etc. organized by the Prakriti Foundation, the Alliance française Chennai or the French Institute in India.
  • Depending on the nature of his/her artistic project, the resident will be provided with a performance studio in Chennai or a think-tank space in the Mangala Heritage Home in Nagapattinam.
  • The resident will receive a stipend of INR. 60,000 per month to cover his/her food and living expenses.
  • The resident will receive a residency grant of INR. 50 000 per month.
  • The French Institute in India expects the selected resident to send them a short text (1000 - 2000 words) testifying of their experience within 3 months of completion of the residency.
  • The resident must work on an artistic outcome to be presented at the end of the residency, or later on (text, film, performance, etc.). This could take several forms and could be shown both in India and in France, depending on the programming opportunities identified by IFI and the residency itself.

Eligibility criteria

  • Proficiency in English is required for the applicant.