3 bis f

Since 1983, 3 bis f has been a multidisciplinary contemporary arts centre - performing arts and visual arts - located in the Montperrin psychiatric hospital in Aix-en-Provence. Since 2021, 3 bis f has been accredited as a contemporary arts centre of national interest.
Every year, for varying periods of time, ranging from a few weeks to several months, performing arts artists and acting troupes develop their research and/or creative projects as part of residencies at 3 bis f. Reflecting its unusual identity, they do so by situating their artistic practice in the context of the hospital environment. The centre's work, which is very much in sync with the healthcare profession, encourages transdisciplinarity and encounters with alterity. The dual artistic direction between visual and performing arts encourages cross-disciplinarity and hybrid forms.
Artists working at 3 bis f are driven by a desire to broaden and share their work with a diverse audience, including patients or those who are undergoing treatment, healthcare workers and local residents, particularly during sessions.

3 bis f offers two types of residencies for visual artists registered as working professionals in the field of contemporary art:
- The research residency takes form over time and situates the artist's personal work in this new environment by offering regular meetings open to a particular adult audience. It does result in an exhibition, nor is production of any form of work imposed.
- The creative residency is based on the production of a work (in the broadest sense of the term), leading to an exhibition at 3 bis f.
The residencies form the basis of 3 bis f's artistic season, from September to the end of August. Each new season is developed over time and ends the previous spring, both by invitation and by examining the applications received. These are to be sent to the visual arts director between the autumn and spring preceding the upcoming season.

Research-based residency

WHAT’S INCLUDED

- an independent 80 m2 studio, accessible 24/7
- a communal kitchen
- technical and logistical support
- financial support in the form of €5400 grant (including a residency stipend of up to €800/month and €600 for travel expenses)  

DURATION

6 continuous months from either August to January or February to July

SELECTION PROCESS

In addition to a portfolio and a CV outlining the artist's career, the cover letter accompanying every application for a residency must specify the subject of the research, the way in which the artist envisages linking the project to the venue, the team and the public, and the artist's motivation to carry it out at 3 bis f.
All applicants must have declared their artistic activity(ies) to the relevant administrative bodies for tax and social security purposes. 
Candidates are required to be proficient in French.  
Priority is given to artists living in the area or those who do not require housing. 

CONSIDERATION FOR RESIDENTS' FAMILY LIFE

Accommodation can be provided for residents' families for short periods of time. The premises are not suitable for long-term stays due to limited living space shared with the other artistic teams. Spouses can be accommodated more easily than children, as the environment and spaces at 3 bis f are better suited to this type of stay. 3 bis f is not equipped with furniture for infants, but resident artists are welcome to bring their own.
3 bis f is committed to taking personal life into account and is always available to discuss with resident artists how it can adapt to their needs in terms of family life.

RESIDENTS' COMMITMENTS

- To attend and present their research project at an event at the start of the season: meetings with the other participating artists, staff at the Montperrin psychiatric hospital, partners and the public.
- During the residency, the studio is considered to be the artist's main place of work, in which the artist is required to host professional meetings and conduct individual and group visits.

ACTIVITIES AIMED AT THE PUBLIC 

Resident artists are invited to lead 'sessions', during which they have the opportunity to talk about their research, in the studio or in a dedicated area of the arts centre. These sessions are an integral part of the residency programme and the link established between the artist's research and the context in which the artist has been received.
This is a space-time intended for experimentation, shared research, undertaken collectively and pursued in the presence of a diverse range of individuals (artists, students, patients, health care teams, the public, families, groups working in the social field).
Resident artists are not expected to establish therapeutic or educational relationships, but rather support and inform research by dividing their time between collective sessions and studio work. 

Creation-based residency

- an independent 80 m2 studio accessible 24/7
- a communal kitchen
- technical and logistical support
- financial support in the form of a stipend of €800 per month (€2,400 for 3 months), €1,200 to cover presentation rights and €5,000 for production costs)
- reimbursement of travel expenses (up to €1000 and upon presentation of receipts)
- housing (a furnished room on the premises)

DURATION

From 2 to 3 months.
The duration of a residency, completed in a continuous manner or intermittently, is decided according to the requirements of the project, with particular consideration given to the amount of time the artist requires to discover the centre and learn about its history.

SELECTION PROCESS

- Every artist who applies or group of artists who apply must duly declare their artistic activity(ies) to the relevant administrative bodies for tax and social security purposes.
- a portfolio and a CV which details the artist’s career
- a cover letter detailing the outline and nature of the project, as well as why the artist/group of artists is/are interested in working at 3 bis f.
- particular attention will be given to projects which mark a turning-point in the artist’s practice (experimentation) or to those which involve the completion of a major project. 

ACTIONS AIMED AT THE PUBLIC

Resident artists are invited to lead 'sessions', during which they have the opportunity to talk about their research, in the studio or in a dedicated area of the arts centre. These sessions are an integral part of the residency programme and the link established between the artist's research and the context in which the artist has been received.
This is a space-time intended for experimentation, shared research, undertaken collectively and pursued in the presence of a diverse range of individuals (artists, students, patients, health care teams, the public, families, groups working in the social field).
Resident artists are not expected to establish therapeutic or educational relationships, but rather support and inform research by dividing their time between collective sessions and studio work. 

RESIDENTS' COMMITMENTS

- to attend and present their project at an event at the start of the season: meetings with the other participating artists, staff at the Montperrin psychiatric hospital, partners and the public.
- to complete the artistic project that they were selected for
- to host professional meetings in their studios and share their work during both private and group visits

RESIDENTS' COMMITMENTS

Arrangements are similar to those of the research-based residency, the aim being to share artistic practices and the related challenges of an ongoing or future project.