Villa Swagatam - Indo-French cultural residency program

Residency brief

The Alice Boner Institute, located in the millennium-old city of Varanasi, stands as a repository for the artistic traditions of India. It houses an art library as well as a rich art and manuscripts collection. As an institution, it nurtures academic and artistic research through its residencies and exchanges programs, short courses and publications.

The residency targets individuals whose research or creative work engages with the culture of India or Varanasi. They can be writers, social science researchers or cultural practitioners such as dancers, musicians, and visual artists. To be selected, it is important to demonstrate the need for them to immerse themselves in a city like Varanasi. During the course of their stay, they will be introduced to other institutional networks such as schools, universities, cultural spaces, local artists, scholars, and activists. Connections will be facilitated by the Alice Boner Institute.

Residents are expected to make one public presentation or workshop of their work or connected to the project they wish to execute during the residency, preferably at the Alice Boner Institute. The resident should be willing to engage with the cultural heritage of the city and the region, which should be an integral part of their project.

While the Alice Boner Institute does not currently offer a dedicated team of assistants or collaborators for project development or ideation, it fosters an environment conducive to independent exploration and creativity. The Institute benefits from its vibrant surroundings, which include early morning yoga practices and occasional lively events nearby, contributing to a dynamic and culturally rich atmosphere for residents and visitors alike.

Our Space

The Alice Boner Institute is located on Assi Ghat, on the banks of the river Ganga, at the southern end of the city of Varanasi (formerly Benares), the most sacred city for Hindus, home to the Kashi Vishwanath temple.

A traditional heritage house comprising several rooms organized around an inner courtyard, the Institute was once the home of Swiss artist and scholar Padma Bhushan Dr. Alice Boner who lived in India from 1935 to her death in 1978.

The building is tastefully decorated with Indian artefacts and comprises a patio and administrative office on the ground floor, bedrooms, a living room and an in-house kitchen on the first floor and a library and studio space on the second floor. The third floor has a large terrace where readings and gatherings are regularly organized by the Institute. The atmosphere is quiet and serene, yet just a few steps away from all the daily activities and rituals performed on the ghats. There may or may not be another resident at the time of the residency.

Olivier Liron

Author

During my residency at the Alice Boner Institute in Varanasi, I hope to develop a literary project conceived as a subjective herbarium. The plants I encounter-a tree, a flower, a moss, a plant in a courtyard or beside the river-will become starting points for writing about places, people, memories and ways of inhabiting the world. Plants will not be decorative elements, but a method of observation. I work from attention rather than certainty.

Olivier Liron is a French novelist, poet, essayist and literary translator. A graduate of the École Normale Supérieure and former lecturer at Sorbonne Nouvelle University, he is the author of books published by Gallimard, Robert Laffont and Rivages. His work explores otherness, vulnerability, belonging, ecology and overlooked forms of life, moving between narrative, essay and poetry. He has also created stage performances and audio fiction, and regularly leads creative writing workshops. During his residency at the Alice Boner Institute, he will begin a literary project conceived as a subjective herbarium, using plants to observe places, encounters and the living world.

Marina Chiche

Author and Musician

India has long been calling me, and the time has now come in my life. Varanasi is a city where death opens onto rebirth - a place to let something in me die, and something else be born. I expect to be shaken. This residency offers the rare chance to write from within that transformation, and to let Indian classical music, the Ganga, and Alice Boner’s library reveal a different relationship to music, to the violin, and perhaps to sound itself - as devotion.

Marina Chiche is a violinist, author, and researcher whose career bridges performance, scholarship, and artistic exploration. She began playing the violin at the age of three and has performed at the Berlin Philharmonie, the Paris Philharmonie, and Beijing National Concert Hall. She has recorded award-winning albums, holds a PhD in Arts, and has taught violin in Taiwan and Germany. She is the author of Musiciennes de légende and creates podcasts for Radio France and RTBF. She is now writing her next book, exploring what remains of a musician when the body must discover new ways of inhabiting music.

Residency conditions

The resident will be provided with on-site accommodation, which includes a basic room with a bed and a small table. There is a cupboard for clothes and an attached bath with western toilets, a water heater, a shower and amenities. The living environment is modest but set up inside a charming heritage building with a rooftop and windows overlooking the river Ganga.
The resident will be provided with amenities like wifi, basic stationery, a printing facility, and laundry.
In addition to the room, the resident will have access to a studio space with air conditioning, a room heater and large windows for natural light.
The resident will be provided by the Residency with three meals a day, with tea/coffee available upon request. The residents are also provided access to the kitchen space.
The resident will be given full access to the Institute’s Art Library as per working hours.
The residents’ travel costs to and from their home address will be covered by the French Institute in India.
The resident will receive a fixed stipend of INR. 30 000 per month to cover his/her food and living expenses.
The resident will receive a fixed residency grant of INR. 50 000 per month.
The resident should be willing to give up to 20% of his/her residency time to participate in lectures, workshops, and conferences organized by the Alice Boner Institute, the Alliance française Lucknow or the French Institute in India.
This is an exploratory residence, which means that there is no obligation of results at the end of the residency. However, the residency program needs to be acknowledged in any artistic production resulting from the residency.
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.
Residents who have a history of dust/lung allergies or asthma are encouraged to take necessary precautions as the Institute is situated in an area with severe air pollution levels during the winter.
The Institute's heritage building design may pose challenges for infants, young children, or individuals with disabilities due to features such as steep steps and open balconies. However, it provides an open and airy environment with a courtyard for relaxation and recreation.
The neighbourhood of Assi Ghat, where the Institute is located can pose challenges of sound pollution. It is today a bustling tourist hangout with a lot of small hotels, eateries and regular cultural activity that attracts large crowds. The space directly in front of the institute is often noisy and loud with car/bike horns and ongoing construction of a large car-parking infrastructure.

Eligibility criteria

Proficiency in English is required for the applicant.
The resident must have at least one book (minimum) published by a French publishing house.

Alice Boner Institute Residency