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Villa Gillet x Lyon BD

Exploratory Residency

Residency brief

The Villa Gillet is a European and international house for contemporary writing practices. It is a meeting place and a creation space, giving voice to writers, thinkers and artists in order to create a common language between literature and the human sciences.

Located in the historic city of Lyon — a place of confluence with a long-standing history of exchanges with Europe and the wider world — the Villa Gillet conceives itself as a laboratory for thought on practices related to books, written and spoken language, and contemporary debates. It offers a gateway into contemporary literature and critical thinking.

Each year, the Villa Gillet welcomes writers through international and cultural action residencies, as well as authors whose freedom of expression is under threat — whether due to censorship, their role as witnesses to political and social realities, or their public positions. It is also part of a European network of partner institutions dedicated to the mobility of writers, aiming to foster public debate by creating opportunities for international authors to engage with new audiences.

For the 2026–2027 edition of Villa Swagatam, the residency is jointly developed by the Villa Gillet and the Lyon BD Festival, a major cultural organization dedicated to graphic storytelling in all its forms. The resident will be welcomed within the Lyon BD Festival’s premises (College Graphique) and will benefit from its artistic ecosystem, in close connection with the Villa Gillet’s programme and network. Through exhibitions, performances, workshops and public events, Lyon BD Festival explores the intersections between comics, literature and contemporary creation. This partnership reflects a shared commitment to supporting innovative narrative forms and fostering dialogue between text and image, literature and visual storytelling.

  • Thematic focus Graphic Novels
  • Location Lyon (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes)
  • Dates May - June 2027
  • Length of stay 6-8 weeks

Our Space

As part of the partnership with the Lyon BD Festival, resident will be hosted within the Collège Graphique, located in the former Collège Truffaut in the Pentes de la Croix-Rousse. This recently renovated heritage site is now a multidisciplinary creative hub dedicated to artistic practices and social initiatives. The Collège Graphique is a major European center for comics creation, bringing together artists, studios, exhibition spaces and public programming.

Residents are accommodated in a private room within the Collège Graphique and are provided with a dedicated workspace in a shared studio environment alongside local illustrators and comic book artists. They are invited to take part in the life of the space and to benefit from its dynamic artistic community, while maintaining close connections with the Villa Gillet’s programme.

Debangshu Moulik

Graphic novelist

During this residency, I aim to create an experimental comic book featuring a fictional narrative about artists and their creative inspirations. I also look forward to building long-term connections with local artists and collectives in France, establishing a visual dialogue between the two cultures.

Debangshu Moulik (b.1998) is a Pune-based artist whose artworks showcase bold linework and exploration of various mediums. His human characters are rendered with expressiveness often evocative of the spontaneity found in comic books and animation. Additionally, Debangshu's art exhibits traces of traditional influences, especially in the way he draws facial features and uses bold lines, inspired by religious iconography in India like the Kalighat paintings and sculptures of Mahabalipuram.

Debangshu's work draws from a range of sources, including comic books, animation, and art history. He earned his BFA from Abhinav Kala Vidyalaya, Pune University, where he studied Painting. Debangshu has collaborated with well-known brands like Google, Adobe, Meta, Snapchat, Samsung, Vice, and Levi's. His work can also be found in collections across India, the USA, Europe and the UAE.

Through his artworks, Debangshu invites viewers to explore his perspective on the intersection of comics, contemporary art and traditional art.

Residency conditions

  • The resident will be given accommodation in an individual apartment in College Truffaut
  • The resident’s travel costs to and from his/her home address will be covered by the French Institute in India.
  • The resident will receive a fixed stipend of INR. 60 000 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, conferences in local schools and local literary festivals organized by Villa Gillet, Lyon BD or the French Institute in India.
  • The French Institute in India expects the selected resident to send them a short text (1000 - 2000 words) or strip testifying of their experience within 3 months of completion of the residency.
  • This is an exploratory residence, which means that there is no other 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.

Eligibility criteria

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

Past Laureates

Third Edition (2025 - 2026)
Ruchir Joshi Author and journalist
Second Edition (2024 - 2025)
Niyati Bhat Writer and Translator