Since 2003, the Dena Foundation for Contemporary Art promotes a three-month Artists Residency Program at the Centre International d’Accueil et d’Echanges des Récollets in Paris, located in the antique renovated convent of the Récollets, near Gare de l’Est station. This center hosts during the year artists and researchers from different countries and nationalities supported by international organizations. The residency of the Dena Foundation generally takes place in fall.

The program is handled by Francesca di Nardo, director, and gathers a group of artists selected by scientific committees, following an invitation.

This program aims at promoting the mobility of the artists and at introducing them to the French and international art scene. Thanks to the one-on-one studio visits and the guided visits to their “atelier” organized all along the residency, the artists benefit from the advice and feedback of renown art critics and curators, directors of international institutions, gallery owners, collectors and prominent artists. The program represents for them also an opportunity to explore the cultural scene of Paris, with the organization of numerous visits to the current exhibitions as well as in the places dedicated to young creation.

This stimulating atmosphere of exchange is a great occasion for the development of their artistic projects, and valuable contacts are made through all these encounters.

The artists are also involved in the activities of the Dena Foundation, such as conferences, exhibitions and round tables.

The scholarship covers the travel costs and the costs related to the stay of the artists, who are housed in independent studio-apartments with residence services, as well as a variable contribution to production costs.

This Program is made possible thanks to the support and collaboration of different public and private partners, the main one being, since the beginning of the Program, the City of Milan.

To date, the artists of the Dena Foundation involved in this program have been more than thirty.