The artist residency, an annual invitation, seeks to foster deeper connections between photographic production, contemporary art, and the public. Located in Mougins, on the hills above Cannes, in the Alpes-Maritimes department, in the Côte d’Azur region of France, and 67 km from Italy, the residency offers a unique opportunity for artists to explore the rich cultural and geographic landscape of the region. The Mougins area, its status within 7 the metropolitan community of Cannes Pays de Lérins and the Sophia Antipolis technology hub, and its relations with neighboring towns, will all be at the heart of the concerns shaping the artist residency, thus portraying a broader territory and its inhabitants.

Without any imposed theme, the residency encourages a diverse range of photographic practices that challenge the identity of this ever-changing and constantly redefined territory, bringing genuine added value to the region’s culture and tourism policies. The ambition, year upon year, is to showcase, to exhibit, and to collect moments and layers of real life in the entire 06 department.

Open to all photographers, both French and foreign, the creative residency will select artists based on their portfolio, their experience, and a demonstrated continuity in their work. A jury composed of the artistic director and the director of the Center for Photography (François Cheval and Yasmine Chemali), representatives from the municipality (deputy in charge of cultural affairs), the Ministry of Culture (DRAC), as well as local and external professional personalities, will carefully review the submissions.

The Mougins photographic residency will take place between November and April, spanning six weeks in total. The selected resident will be provided with accommodation in a village apartment and a dedicated workspace. While the candidate should have a predefined project, the majority of their photographic work will be carried out on-site, with post-production tasks completed outside of the residency period.

Although no formal exhibition is required, the resident will work closely with the director of the Center and the artistic director to propose the final outcome of their residency two months after the on-site experience. Together, they will determine whether to partially or fully utilize the results of the residency in collaboration with the municipality of Mougins, which will be formalized in a new contract.

Clémence Elman
Born in 1992, Clémence Elman is a photographer based in Arles. After studying political science, she graduated from the École nationale supérieure de photographie (Arles) in 2020. Her works have been exhibited at Villa Noailles for the 35th edition of the Festival of Fashion, Photography and Fashion Accessories in Hyères, at the Athens Photo Festival, and the Dior Prize for Photography and Visual arts for Young Talents (2021). In 2022, she was a resident at the Villa Pérochon (Niort) during the Rencontres de la Jeune Photographie Internationale and exhibited at the OVNI Festival (Nice). She has also been awarded the Eurazeo Grant in 2022.

Clémence Elman’s artistic practice revolves around the construction of identity, our relationship to the “Other”, and our environment, particularly through the lens of exoticism, and the representation of these themes in photography. Through the medium of documentary-fiction photography, she creates narratives that blur the boundaries between the real and the imaginary and questions the documentary faculties of fiction – and vice versa – and the significance of reconsidering reality and its use in photography in today’s context.

In residence at the Centre de la photographie de Mougins for six weeks (December 2022 + February 2023). With the support of DRAC-PACA.