Sub+ Residencies x Fondation la Roche Jacquelin
of Southeast Asian Contemporary Art
Sub+ resident artist, Yadanar Win (Myanmar), setting up for the Vernissage of her new work in August 2025
Anjou, France
Southeast Asian contemporary art discourse among landscape, history, and cross-cultural dialogue
The Substation, in partnership with Fondation la Roche Jacquelin of Southeast Asian Contemporary Art (France), invites applications from young artists who are Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents based in Singapore, 35 years old and below, for a 30-day residential arts residency to take place in August and September 2026.
In our third year partnering with Fondation la Roche Jacquelin, this summer residency is conceived as a space for immersion — into landscape, history, and cross-cultural dialogue — to support young artists in their early practices and research that can benefit from distance, reflection, and site-responsiveness. Our past Sub+ residents for this partnership were Myanmar artists Aung Ko (2024), Nge Lay (2024), and Yadanar Win (2025), whose works were showcased in the exhibition, Between Lands: Migration as Transformation, as part of The Substation’s Gathering Ground 2025.
In our partnership’s first Open Call in 2026, the search was for a young artist who can benefit from the cross-cultural dialogue and inter-generational exchange with the community of guest practitioners at the Fondation this summer.
The Substation has long championed artistic process, experimentation, and critical exchange. Within an increasingly accelerated arts ecology, our Sub+ Residencies programme affirms the value of research, risk, and sustained inquiry across contexts.
Fondation de La Roche Jacquelin
CURRENT RESIDENTS
15 Aug - 15 Sep 2026
Elden Zachery is a larger-than-life, queer performance artist of Kristang heritage, trained in butoh. Performing since 2024, they have experience in institutional contexts and unconventional sites, dabbles in the Southeast Asian underground circuit, and are also a facilitator with the Singapore Butoh Collective.
Brigette Teo works with fibre, text, and creative technology to create bodies of tactile and experiential installations. Her practice explores themes of labour and the value of craft in response to contemporary technological and political landscapes, often employing slow art techniques and unconventional upcycled materials for her work as an act of resistance.
As one of Singapore's prominent artists, Jeremy Hiah complements the programme with his energy and experience. Jeremy has travelled, performed, and exhibited in Singapore and internationally. He has been involved in The Substation’s early years through pioneering initiatives like the multidisciplinary showcase 'Post-Ulu' with The Artists Village; the breakthrough performance art event Future of Imagination spearheadeded by Lee Wen & Jason Lim; and Jeremy's own live art platform, Wuwei Performance Series, which just had its 10th edition in July 2026.
WORK-IN-PROGRESS ACTIVITIES
Sun, 6 Sep 2026
2pm - 7pm CEST (GMT/UTC+2)
Château de la Roche Jacquelin
3100 Route de Huillé, 49640 Morannes-sur-Sarthe – Daumeray
France
WORKSHOP
Woodcut Print-making Workshop by Jeremy Hiah
2pm - 5pm CEST (GMT/UTC+2)
Join us for a hands-on woodcut print-making workshop with our resident artist, Jeremy Hiah!
Workshop structure:
• A brief look at the history of woodcut printing
• Learn the basic skills of carving into wood blocks.
• A live demonstration on how to use woodcut tools safely, plus tips for troubleshooting common mistakes.
• Discover how to transfer your carved designs onto different materials.
Please bring a blank T-shirt or a tote bag to print your custom design onto!
PERFORMANCE
< soltu: ngkontrah >
6pm - 7pm CEST (GMT/UTC+2)
< soltu: ngkontrah > is a butoh hybrid performance, adding a new chapter to Elden Zachery's 'Soltu' (meaning 'free') series of work, investigating and creating in response to research around his Kristang (Malay-Portuguese creole) heritage that has been in action since 2023.
At Chateau la Roche-Jacquelin, Elden expands his scope into larger ideas and philosophies around indigeneity and creolisation, and the prospect of freedom that we can find through these lines of thought inspired by indigenous and creole communities and their structures. 'ngkontrah' means 'encounter', where this work engages with the Chateau's grounds and the audience present; initiating an inquiry into otherness, freedom and ambiguity.
About Fondation la Roche Jacquelin of Southeast Asian Contemporary Art
Established in 2007 by Singapore-based Iola Lenzi and Jean-Louis Morisot, the Fondation is a music and visual-art-based philanthropic initiative for promoting cultural and artistic exchange between Southeast Asia and Europe. Its mission includes the sponsorship of summer residencies for Southeast Asian artists and other cultural players at the Château de La Roche Jacquelin; the development of a specialist library of Southeast Asian art and culture, and the creation of an oral history archive documenting regional cultural participants from the late 20th century to the present.
Situated in the Loire Valley in Anjou, western France, the Château offers the opportunity to live and work without production pressure within a historic estate while engaging with Southeast Asian contemporary art discourse in a European setting. Over the last 20 years, the Fondation has welcomed artists at various stages of their respective careers, including Jason Lim, Vertical Submarine (Justin Loke; Fiona Koh; Joshua Yang), Abhisek Lahiri, Arahmaiani, Bui Cong Khanh, Chris Chong Chan Fui, Jakkai Siributr, Josephine Turalba, Michael Shaowanasai, Partha Sarathi Mukherjee, Pinaree Sanpitak, and Tawatchai Puntusawasdi.
Fondation la Roche Jacquelin - Attic Studio
Myanmar artist Yadanar Win (left) in discussion with Fondation co-director Iola Lenzi
Fondation la Roche Jacquelin - Concert Space
Fondation la Roche Jacquelin - Grand Salon
Thai artist Jakkai Siributr reworking a 19th century tapestry found on site with his embroidered additions
Fondation la Roche Jacquelin
Indonesian artist Arahmaiani painting an outdoor mural visible to local farmers ploughing the surrounding fields
Fondation la Roche Jacquelin
Yadanar Win presenting her video works in the main Dining Room
Fondation la Roche Jacquelin - Intimate Concert Space in the Chapel
Open Call — What to expect
Fondation la Roche Jacquelin - Surrounding Grounds & Landscape
Fondation la Roche Jacquelin is located within an 18th century Château set on 66 hectares of gardens, woodlands and fields in Anjou, France. The estate includes:
Gardens, wooded grounds, fishing ponds, and open fields
A grand salon, chapel, library, and numerous performance spaces in the Château and its buildings
Indoor and outdoor areas suitable for installation, sound, performance, and research
A specialist Southeast Asian art library
The residency is intentionally open in structure. Artists set the pace and content of their stay, supported by the Fondation’s directors and network.
Artists should be prepared for:
A rural setting with a slower pace of life
Independent working conditions
Shared residency environments during summer months
Engagement with visiting artists, musicians, and cultural practitioners
Fondation la Roche Jacquelin - Inner Summer Garden
What this Sub+ Residencies programme offers
1 month in residence at Château de la Roche Jacquelin
Accommodation and board on-site, all meals included
Access to indoor and outdoor working areas, including studio/workspace facilities & concert/exhibition spaces to showcase work-in-progress
Curatorial guidance and programme mentorship
Facilitation of visits to local artist studios, museums, and music festivals
Selected local materials
The selected artist may also be considered for future programming opportunities with The Substation.
Application Requirements
Kindly fill up the Open Call application form with the following information:
Artist biography (max 300 words)
Portfolio (up to 10 pages/files or equivalent; links accepted)
Residency proposal (max 500 words), outlining:
Your current practice
What you wish to explore during the residency
Why this specific context (France / Château / cross-cultural setting) matters to your work
CV (max 2 pages), including year of birth
References (2 names with contact number & email)
Confirmation of valid travel documents, including making arrangements for pre-departure requirements
Agreement to prepare and submit grant applications for supplementary funding, with administrative assistance from The Substation
A note on pre-departure travel requirements
The selected resident:
is responsible for all travel visas and permissions, with The Substation and Fondation la Roche Jacquelin supplying necessary invitation letters; and
is to be guided by the regulating authorities’ processing time and all related fees, i.e. the new ETIAS authorisation (for visa-exempt countries like Singapore) or Short-Stay Visa (for non-EU territories)
Who we’re looking for
A young artist based in Singapore who:
Holds a Singapore Citizenship or Permanent Residency status
Is ≤ 35 years old in 2026
Possesses valid international travel documents including European Visa
Is available during the residency period
Best suited for artists who:
Value research-led, process-driven, or site-responsive practices
Are interested in cross-cultural dialogue and Southeast Asian contemporary discourse
Can work independently within a rural and reflective environment
Are open to experimentation without production pressure
Are interested in how history, architecture, and landscape shape artistic inquiry
Practices that may be particularly suited include:
Sound, music, and listening-based work
Visual arts
Installation and spatial practices
Performance (research-based / non-production-focused)
Interdisciplinary and research-driven work
Young artists with strong conceptual grounding are encouraged to apply.
Application Deadline (extended): Friday, 27 March 2026, 11.59pm SGT
Shortlisted applicants may be contacted for clarification or a short online conversation.
Selected applicants will be notified by 31 March 2026.
Enquiries
For administrative or technical enquiries on the application form submission, email us at outreach@substation.org.