Lycée Français de Chicago: The French International School ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM

The Lycée Français de Chicago, an independent co-educational day school, invites artists to submit
proposals for our 2012-2013 Artist-in-Residence program.
 

Who are we?
 

The Lycée Français de Chicago has been providing a world class education to American and
international students since 1995. Beginning in pre-school and continuing through 12th grade, our
students thrive in a unique multicultural, dual-language learning environment.
 

Our school puts a great emphasis on the arts as a cultural expression and as a means of international
dialogue. We believe that the arts influence the development of how people communicate their
perceptions, responses, and understanding of the world to themselves and to others. We focus on
providing each student with the cultural and artistic education necessary for this development.
Since 1997 the Lycee’s Artist-in-Residence program has collaborated with such international artists and
institutions as Christian Boltanski, Ery Camara, Sheila Hicks, Laurent Baude, Beate Gütschow,
Périphériques Architectes, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. While each project has explored new
linkages between art and learning, it is the integration of the artists’ ideas into the philosophy and overall
curriculum, as well as into the day-to-day activities of the school, that are most significant.
 

Over the next three years, as the Lycée prepares to move to a new school location in 2015, we are
seeking three artists, one per year, to create projects with our students that will help us reaffirm our
identity as a global community. The theme for the Artist-in-Residence program during these three years
will be: “The Lycée as a Community of Productive Contradictions.”
 

We are looking forward to receiving project ideas that extend our relationship with the community
beyond the school walls, and into the truly international world of which we are a part.

What are we looking for?
 

We are currently seeking proposals for the 2012-13 school year. This call for proposals is open to artists
of all disciplines, including but not limited to, visual artists, playwrights, musicians, poets, dancers,
filmmakers and new media artists.
 

We expect the selected artist to work closely with students and teachers from different levels of our
school, ranging from Pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade. The artist will be expected to donate two final
products to the Lycée at the conclusion of the residency:
 

1. An artistic production created with the students
2. Tangible documentation of the project
 

The contents and making of this final product are open to the imagination, as long as the artist actively
engages the students, and the entire Lycée community, in the process of its creation.
Practical conditions of the program
 

The artist will be given a six week residency that could be spread throughout the school year or
intensive, to create, install, perform, and/or display the work.
 

The artist will be given a generous stipend with travel and accommodation expenses covered. The
residency will also include funds for materials to create the final product as well as an opening exhibition
and several promotional materials to publicize the project.
 

The artist will formally meet with students, parents, and teachers to initially present the project, and will
then work in close contact with teachers and students to bring the project to life. The artist will take part
in two public events, one of which will take place outside of school.
 

Proposals are due by March 31, 2012. Please submit (a) your résumé, (b) an abstract of your proposed
project, and (c) examples of previous work (or website address) to: Ghislaine Bazir, Assistant Head of
School, at gbazir@lyceechicago.org. under the subject line "Artist in Residence".