In the cobbled heart of Belém, Lisbon, La Junqueira art residency presents artists with a rare and luxurious commodity: time. Here, amid the whispers of history and the hum of the Tagus River, creativity deliberately unfolds at its own pace. Founded in 2017 by French visual artist Stéphane Mulliez, La Junqueira is more than a residency—it’s an incubator of ideas, a bridge between local traditions and global innovation.
Courtesy of La Junqueira © La Junqueira
Credit Francisco Nogueira
Mulliez, whose resume includes affiliations with heavyweights like Bordeaux’s CAPC and Paris’s Palais de Tokyo, saw potential in Lisbon’s cultural vibrancy. She spent two years scouring the city for the perfect home for her vision. Finally, on Rua da Junqueira, she found it: a property whose architecture and location in Belém offered the ideal canvas. After a long restoration, the residency opened its doors, rooted in the philanthropic mission of providing artists with a space to create, connect, and push boundaries.
Courtesy of La Junqueira © La Junqueira
Credit Francisco Nogueira
Twice a year, La Junqueira selects two residents for a three-month stay beginning in March and September. These are no cookie-cutter residencies. Under Mulliez’s thoughtful guidance, the experience is tailored to the individual artist’s needs of each artist or curator, designed through dialogue and collaboration.
But this is no ordinary residency—it’s a well-oiled machine of artistic support. Travel and accommodation costs are covered, along with a €2,000 production budget or funding for a short film documenting the creative process. Residents also receive the kind of opportunities that make other artists envious: studio visits with Portuguese and international art-world influencers, community workshops, and intimate gatherings that foster authentic connections.
The program culminates in a public exhibition showcasing the fruits of their labour, with participants contributing one piece to La Junqueira’s growing collection.
Courtesy of La Junqueira © La Junqueira
Credit Francisco Nogueira
Mulliez’s restored mansion offers a 21 m² private living space, complete with a kitchen and bathroom, alongside a 70 m² studio, a library stocked with art books, and a tranquil garden. Just ten minutes away, a 100 m² studio, accommodates large-scale works and ambitious projects. It’s the kind of setup that makes you wonder why every artist residency doesn’t just follow suit.
Courtesy of La Junqueira © La Junqueira
Credit Francisco Nogueira
The name Junqueira isn’t just a geographic nod—it’s a cultural echo. It invokes Rua da Junqueira in Póvoa de Varzim, a storied northern shopping street steeped in history. Lined with boutique shops, this vibrant artery reflects the essence of La Junqueira: a place where tradition meets reinvention, where the past is not a weight but a spark of the imagination.
Belém itself is the perfect setting for such a project. The launchpad of the Age of Discoveries, where explorers once stood on the edge of the known world and dared to imagine what lay beyond the horizon. Mulliez channels that same spirit of curiosity and ambition, crafting a residency that encourages its artists to take risks, navigate uncharted territory, and redefine their creative practices.
Courtesy of La Junqueira © La Junqueira
Credit Francisco Nogueira
Artist residencies have long been crucibles of reinvention, offering more than time—they offer freedom. Freedom to question, to dismantle, to rebuild. From Ai Weiwei’s Fairytale to Helen Frankenthaler’s lithographs, residencies have birthed works that challenge conventions and reshape artistic discourse. La Junqueira is no different. It champions those who dare to challenge the status quo, transforming the act of creation into an act of bold exploration.
Courtesy of La Junqueira © La Junqueira
Take this year’s resident, French sculptor Max Coulon. Known for his work with industrial materials like concrete and steel, Coulon arrived at La Junqueira and turned his focus to wood. Walking Belém’s natural landscapes, he collected discarded fragments—pieces steeped in quiet history. Through dismantling, layering, and rebuilding, Coulon created sculptures that mirror Belém itself: textured, resilient, and alive. Coulon’s final works breathe with tension—caught between preservation and transformation.
Courtesy of La Junqueira © La Junqueira
Residencies like La Junqueira are more than places—they’re catalysts, amplifiers connecting residents with local and international networks, it ensuring their work reverberates far beyond its walls. They remind us that history is never far away, not as a relic but as a wellspring of inspiration. In its shadow, art is crafted. In its light, we imagine. And from this, creativity takes flight.
To learn more about La Junqueira’s art residency or to apply, head over to their website via the link below.
©2024 La Junqueira
Len is a curator and a contributing writer at Art Plugged, a platform for contemporary art; he also engages in web development, design, and marketing.
