Organizer Information
The Maison de l'Architecture Occitanie Méditerranée (MAOM) is a non-profit association founded on June 3, 2004, based in Montpellier, France. Its stated mission is to promote and disseminate architectural, urban, and landscape culture to the widest possible public. Active since 2004, MAOM runs a varied program of exhibitions, film screenings, conferences, roundtables, awareness workshops, school interventions, residencies, and student competitions, and positions itself as a space for sharing, exchange, and debate around the societal and ecological dimensions of the built environment, from dense cities to remote territories. Since 2023, MAOM has shared premises with the Conseil d'Architecture, d'Urbanisme et de l'Environnement (CAUE) on rue Saint-Louis in Montpellier.
This open call is issued by MAOM with the support of the Fondation Altemed, the Ordre des Architectes Occitanie, the City and Metropolitan Area of Montpellier, and the DRAC Occitanie (the regional state authority for cultural affairs). The Fondation Altemed, founded in 2025, describes its mission as promoting and supporting artistic and cultural creation in the neighborhoods of Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole and beyond, with the stated belief that art is an essential driver of social connection and local dynamism.
Title & Description
Open Call for Applications — Architectural & Urban Fresco Residency, École Sigmund Freud, Aiguelongue district, Montpellier
MAOM is launching an open call for an artist (illustrator, graphic designer, muralist, street artist, or an architect interested in graphic work or illustration) for an urban and artistic residency to create an architectural and urban fresco in the Aiguelongue district of Montpellier. The fresco will be created at the heart of the Cité d'Aiguelongue, a mixed-use, working-class neighborhood classified as a priority area under French urban policy ("quartier prioritaire de la politique de la ville"), located near the universities and the Lez river. One proposed support is a wall of the École Sigmund Freud elementary school, on rue des Tourterelles. The residency asks the artist to create an artistic representation of the Aiguelongue district — its architecture, urban landscapes, historical narrative, urban transformations, and relationship to nature — while engaging with residents, schoolchildren, and local stakeholders throughout the process. The final form (sensitive cartography, urban fabric mapping, storytelling of the district's transformations, cross-section reading of urban layers, a prefiguration of the district's future, illustration/comics, wall or ground motifs, etc.) is left to the artist's interpretation.
Theme
The residency explores the threshold space between "inside" (the school, housing) and "outside" (public space) in the Aiguelongue district — a porous boundary the fresco is meant to spill across, engaging with the everyday, lived, open-air heritage of the neighborhood. Objectives stated by the organizers include: leaving a lasting visual trace of the city, its imaginaries, and its transformations in public space; exploring questions of gender and social peace in public space through the lens of the Aiguelongue district; proposing the fresco as a mediation tool that offers keys to understanding the district and its challenges; and involving residents, local stakeholders, and schoolchildren in the research and creation process.
Categories
- Mural
- Street Art
- Public Art
- Illustration
- Site-specific
- Architecture
Eligibility
- Open to artists with no age limit and no geographic/nationality restriction
- Aimed at an illustrator, graphic designer, muralist, street artist, or architect interested in graphic work or illustration
- The selected resident must commit to being present on-site for four weeks, from October 12 to November 8, 2026
- The selected resident must organize and participate in participatory workshops, consultations, and public mediation sessions with residents and schoolchildren throughout the residency
Program Benefits & Awards
- A residency grant (bourse de résidence) of €1,500 awarded to the selected artist
- A maximum budget of €2,500 dedicated to production and creation costs for the project
- A workspace provided at MAOM's premises and in the Aiguelongue district
- Logistical support, plus support for research, site visits (repérages), and mediation
- Meetings with qualified City representatives arranged during the residency
- Housing solution potentially offered for candidates residing outside the Montpellier metropolitan area, for the duration of the residency
Application Fee
None
How to Apply?
Application by email to contact@maom.fr — subject line: "Candidature Résidence FRESQUE AIGUELONGUE – [Artist's Name]." PDF format is preferred for the application file.
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 28 September 2026
- Selection Announced: early October 2026
- Residency Period: October 12 – November 8, 2026
- Official Site Launch (closing event of Montpellier's Architecture Month / Mois de l'Architecture Occitanie): October 29, 2026
Location
Montpellier, France
Additional Details
- The residency is structured in two phases: an initial phase of discovery, research, observation, and meetings with residents, schoolchildren, and local stakeholders (including gathering interviews, readings, or testimonies from the neighborhood), including workshops with residents and schoolchildren; and a second phase dedicated to creating the fresco, including all necessary technical arrangements (permits, simulations, site preparation, scaffolding, protective measures, etc.)
- The application file must include: a short statement of intent explaining the research/creative approach, including a timeline and demonstrating understanding of Montpellier's urban issues and the candidate's ability to incorporate a narrative dimension (maximum: two sides of an A5 sheet); a brief personal presentation (CV, portfolio, biography, experience); and any supporting documents useful for assessing the proposed work and approach, notably reference images relevant to the residency project (photos, videos, internet links)
- Applicants are explicitly not required to submit a pre-designed artistic proposal/mock-up — only a description of the intended approach and methodology, to respect artists' working time
- The selection committee/jury is composed of members of MAOM, architect Philippe Rubio (of the RCA agency), a representative of the Fondation Altemed, a representative of the City of Montpellier, the school's administration, and any other local stakeholder as needed
- Artistic rights remain the property of the artist, but may be freely reused for communication purposes by MAOM, the project's main financial backers (Altemed, City of Montpellier, Ordre des Architectes Occitanie, and DRAC), and local district stakeholders
- The call for applications is accompanied by a separate reference document (cahier de références) with visual/contextual examples of urban frescoes elsewhere (e.g. in Lisbon and Grenoble) and a bibliography on Montpellier and the Aiguelongue district