Villa Swagatam - Indo-French cultural residency program

Residency brief

This residency offers a graphic novelist or a comic book author the opportunity to explore the artistic scenes of France. The selected resident will spend the residency in Angoulême where they will be able to discover the entire ecosystem of this city dedicated to images, in particular the resources of the Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l'image. The resident will be hosted at the Maison des auteurs, the Cité's artists' residence, and will attend the prestigious Angoulême International Comics Festival during their residency.

Dedicated to comics, the Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l'image (International City of Comics and Image) holds the largest heritage collection of comics in Europe and brings together the museum of comics, exhibition galleries, a heritage library, a specialized public library, a documentation center, an international residence for authors (the Maison des auteurs), a reference bookstore, and an art-house cinema. The Cité actively supports contemporary creation through the Maison des Auteurs (The House of Authors). Since its opening in 2002, La Maison des auteurs has welcomed around five hundred artists - emerging and established authors - from France, Europe, and other continents to develop projects there. In addition to the residency program, it offers numerous professional support services. Through its commitment, it now plays an unparalleled role in the French graphic creation landscape. During their stay, the laureate will be able to discover all the resources of the Cité, meet many representatives of the artistic community of Angoulême (rich with more than 300 authors), and participate in the International Comics Festival.

Our Space

Angoulême is characterized by a national and international dynamic surrounding comic books for several decades, notably through its International Comic Strip Festival, its schools and businesses specializing in the field of images, and its public institution, the Cité Internationale de la bande dessinée et de l'image (International City of Comics and Images). Located in a character building of over 1000m², the Maison des auteurs is located in the heart of Angoulême. The interior features include an exhibition hall, a computer and reprography space, and thirteen individual and collective workshops equipped to accommodate twenty-five authors simultaneously.

Mia Jose

Graphic novelist

I have long been interested in understanding cultural stories and myths through the lens of the places they are generated in, and how they orient social behaviour. I look forward to engaging with the ‘City of the Image’ through its local lore and cultural practitioners, and be influenced by it in the process. Given that this residency finds me at an interlude, I am excited to arrive with eyes, ears and a sketchbook open to new threads to begin pulling at.

It will also be a special thing to witness the French leg of the exhibition on Indian visual storytelling traditions, a project that was close to my heart during development. An additional perk is that Cité BD will also be hosting an exhibition on the history of queer comics, which speaks directly to me.

Mia Shay Jose is a visual artist and researcher who uses graphic narratives to probe questions of gender, inheritance and embodiment in cultural stories, informed by her lived experiences of transition: of body, culture and profession. Her creative practice approaches social systems both through the lens of a transgender body and that of a legal researcher, searching for a reconciliation of conflicted parts essential to the self. Over the last 2 years, this search has led to Negotiations, a comic travelogue charting the policing of non-binary bodies across public spaces, Regards Your Skin, an anthology around self-policing and motherhood, and a public mural with trans communities in Kerala. Her present projects include a comic navigating queerness in conflict with the complex religious landscape of Northern Kerala and a graphic adaptation of a Malayalam novel to be published by Westland Books, both rooted in South Indian folklore.

Charbak Dipta

Graphic novelist

Inspired by Franco-Belgian legends like Moebius and Uderzo, attending the prestigious Angoulême Comic Fest will be a profound milestone for me. As an Indian graphic novelist, I am eager to explore current Bande dessinée trends, connect with publishers, and foster cultural exchange at the comic fest. At the residency, I look forward to collaborating with artists from other cultures, absorbing diverse perspectives, and integrating these new horizons into my own work while contributing my expertise to the contemporary French as well as European comic scene.

Charbak Dipta is an internationally recognised, Eisner-nominated graphic novelist and illustrator. A self-taught artist with over a decade of experience, he has published more than 70 books across India, the USA, and globally, and frequently exhibits at international comic cons. Blending intellectual depth with visual storytelling, Charbak holds an MA in Philosophy from Jadavpur University and is an alumnus of the University of Oxford.

Residency conditions

The resident will benefit from a studio equipped with graphic creation materials (drawing table, light table, scanner, and reprography equipment) within the Maison des auteurs.
The residents’ travel costs to and from their home address will be covered by the French Institute in India
The resident will be given a residency grant of INR 110 000.
The resident will be expected to participate in the International Comics Festival in Angoulême.
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) or comic strip testifying of their experience within 3 months of completion of the residency.

Eligibility criteria

Proficiency in English is required for the applicant, whereas fluency in French is not a prerequisite.
The applicants must have a minimum of one published comic book to apply. Applications from self-published writers will not be considered.