Résidence Ackerman × Fontevraud 2027 – immersive installation in the Ackerman cellars

Maison Ackerman and the Abbaye royale de Fontevraud give one artist a year carte blanche to create an immersive work in Ackerman tuffeau cellars near Saumur. The 2027 theme is VOYAGES, built around Raymond de Luze and a house turned towards the world: departing, discovering, exporting, bringing back, passing on, with boats, trains, stations, ports and ocean liners offered as material, including Ackerman wines served aboard Compagnie Transatlantique liners between England and New York. SOUND IS EXPLICITLY WELCOME: the call states that video, light and sound will be particularly appreciated, as ways to work the idea of movement and shift how the space is perceived. The space is a troglodyte underground gallery system of nearly 500 metres, with a gallery over 50 metres long assigned to the artist, dark and suited to play with light, shadow, material and sound. The work is ephemeral but exhibited over five years, and humidity is high so materials must be chosen accordingly. The project must also include an illustration that can be used on Ackerman labels and gift boxes. Accommodation is at the Abbaye royale de Fontevraud, 17 km from Saumur and the cellars, with individual rooms, a living room, shared kitchen, relaxation space and garden, plus a studio. DEADLINE IS SUNDAY 18 OCTOBER 2026 AT 23:59. The dossier is a single landscape PDF, maximum 20 pages and 4 MB, containing your name on page one, a CV with full contact details, a presentation of your artistic approach and at least ten captioned reproductions of recent works, emailed to c.roturier@fontevraud.fr; dossiers that ignore these rules are not examined. No statement of intent is needed at this stage, and shortlisted artists receive 500 euro to produce one. Then: first commission and shortlist 2 November 2026, shortlisted artists hosted at Fontevraud 16 to 18 November, intention dossiers due 16 December, winner announced 8 January 2027, residency from mid-January 2027 and inauguration in May or June 2027. The honorarium and production figures on this listing come from the call annexes PDF rather than the web page.