This group exhibition highlights the living memories of the art center through a fertile dialogue between works by artists from different generations, within the newly reconfigured spaces of the two factories: Le Creux de l’Enfer and Le May. In this way, works by major figures on the international art scene sit alongside those of younger artists, created as part of residencies in Thiers or around the world. The exhibition IN VIVO rekindles powerful past experiences in light of the questions that permeate today’s artistic expressions. It showcases the driving forces of the art center—a place of commitment and constant reinvention—that have animated the Vallée des Usines for forty years.
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After residency
Villa Medici supports fellows in their post-residency career and encourages the circulation of their work in France through two initiatives: ¡Viva Villa! and production grants.
¡VIVA VILLA!
THE NETWORK
¡Viva Villa! is a network of French artistic residencies abroad, created in 2016 by Casa de Velázquez (Madrid), Villa Kujoyama (Kyoto) and Villa Medici (Rome) and joined in 2023 by Villa Albertine (United States).
In 2023, ¡Viva Villa! will evolve from a festival to a platform for supporting contemporary creation through two mechanisms: a support fund and a professional day. ¡Viva Villa! thus becomes a powerful vehicle for disseminating the work of contemporary artists who have benefited from the network of artistic residencies abroad, unique in its scope and vitality, and often decisive in a career’s development.
SUPPORT FUND
¡Viva Villa! has a support fund of 200,000 euros. Every two years, a call for projects is issued to cultural organizations wishing to co-produce a project involving at least two artists from two different residencies. Selected by a jury made up of ¡Viva Villa! representatives, projects benefiting from the support fund are of various types and scales: exhibitions, performances, installations, concerts and publications. This scheme is part of an approach to supporting artists after their residencies in Kyoto, Madrid, Rome or the United States.
THE PROFESSIONAL DAY
On Tuesday October 21, 2025, ¡Viva Villa! and La Gaîté Lyrique present their annual event dedicated to artists, creators and researchers from artistic residencies abroad.
For this third edition at La Gaîté Lyrique, two new residencies join the program: Villa Hegra (AlUla, Saudi Arabia) and Villa Swagatam (India).
Villa Hegra is the first Franco-Saudi cultural institution. Located in AlUla, since 2023 it has been developing a program focused on intercultural dialogue, reflecting the dynamism of artistic exchanges between France and Saudi Arabia. In the autumn of 2025, Villa Hegra will open its site in the center of AlUla, with the aim of becoming a meeting place and creative center. Villa Swagatam is a network of residencies founded in 2023 to encourage exchanges between French and Indian artists hosted by 30 partner institutions in France, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Villa Swagatam’s particularity lies in the reciprocity of exchanges and its focus on two areas: books and crafts.
¡Viva Villa! gives a sneak preview of the research and projects initiated by the hundred or so artists, creators and researchers who spend a month or a year in residence each year.
On Tuesday October 21, the public will be able to find out more about these six residencies through round tables, a major professional forum, workshops, performances, preview screenings and an evening of concerts in the Grande Salle of the Gaîté Lyrique.
An artistic event that echoes the project of the Gaîté Lyrique – Fabrique de l’époque, a polyphonic venue that gives a voice to those who are mobilizing to tackle the social and societal issues of our time.
Discover the full program: Viva Villa
The ¡Viva Villa! projects
Production grants
Through a system of production grants, Villa Medici supports its residents by co-financing, with the help of cultural partners, the projects they have initiated during their residency in Rome. Thinking about the post-residency period is one of Villa Medici’s preoccupations, in a collaborative approach. The introduction of this aid scheme in 2018 has brought together a large number of partners, creating a leverage effect that is essential if the artists’ projects are to see the light of day.
Post-residency projects
Enrico Del Debbio's Foro Italico
Architectures from the MAXXI archives
in co-production with MAXXI
Find out more
Why flowers
Another history of Italy
in co-production with Éditions l'Atelier contemporain, le CNL
Find out morePartners of ¡VIVA VILLA!
¡VIVA VILLA! is an initiative of
with the support of
in partnership with
projects co-produced with
Production grant partners
