Château d'Orquevaux Artists & Writers Residency — Attraction in Chaumont

For my 6th residency, I applied to Chateau d’Orquevaux and was accepted. It is an amazing estate in a tiny French village with a fairy tale feel. The owners, Ziggy & Beulah, have dedicated themselves to restoring the grounds, the house & some of the buildings in the village. Inspiration was everywhere.

My fellow residents were from the USA, Canada & Australia: all had interesting personal histories & some truly amazing talent. I couldn’t wait to learn more about them, share ideas for work, make connections. I planned for this residency for the better part of a year, spent many thousands of dollars not just on the residency itself, but on my travel arrangements & a 3 day stay in Paris.

My residency started out normally, but six days after arriving, I began to get sick. At first, I thought it was my reaction to the rich food, but I soon realized that it wasn’t, especially when my fellow residents began to fall ill with the same thing: diarrhea, vomiting, & brutal fever chills. Seven of us, out of 25+ residents, would fall ill. Regarding our illness, the owners texted via Instagram that they’ve ‘handled this before’, asked the sick residents to use only their bathrooms, & that there were meds available in the salon. It didn’t seem to be a real concern to them.

Beulah told me that the northern part of France was in a ‘red zone’ for a stomach virus & a month prior, during a previous residency, an entire upper floor of the chateau was infected. I asked her why we weren’t warned about this? I strongly suggested they needed to forewarn an incoming cohort of residents. Both Beulah & Ziggy were reticent about doing this, saying they’d ‘think about it’. According to the website ConnextionFrance: “A rise in the seasonal outbreak of stomach flu has been detected by the French health monitoring service Santé Publique France, with cases approaching historic maximum levels… Stomach flu, or acute gastroenteritis, which causes diarrhoea & vomiting…caused by rotavirus & norovirus strains.” Beulah suggested one of the residents from the USA brought in the virus, which was out of the question. Incubation for norovirus is 12-48 hours, & we fell ill at around the 140 hour mark. Thus we contracted it there, at the Chateau.

I was sick for 8 days & unable to work in my studio or dine with my fellow residents for most of that time. I was unable to participate in group activities.

Had we been warned about this virus, especially after the more severe outbreak just the month earlier, this infection we experienced might have been mitigated or even avoided through due diligence being paid to hand washing & sanitizing points of contact, such as doorknobs. But for some reason, they were very blasé about this, instead shrugging it off that ‘it’s everywhere’. But that wasn’t true, for we didn’t have it in our region at home, & others who were sick said the same.

If you are going to Orquevaux or plan to apply for residency, be aware of the lack of fire mitigation within the house. I had the opportunity to finally see the rest of the house on the 16th, & I was dismayed to realize that NOT ONE smoke detector was present nor any carbon monoxide detectors. I found only one fire extinguisher, which was in the stairwell to the basement, off the dining room. I did see security cameras. The reality is that a battery spark or appliance malfunction might start a fire that could result in fatalities. According the website, “The Connextion”: “… smoke detectors are required in residential properties in France, including artist residencies. Since 2015, it has been mandatory to install at least one smoke alarm in each home in France, according to the FIA. This applies to both rented & owned properties, including those used for artist residencies.” As a precaution, you might want to bring your own smoke detector & battery for your room.

I hope the owners take seriously what I have written. I want to see them flourish & don’t want to see a repeat of what I, & others, experienced, & I certainly don’t want to hear about a tragedy occurring there,...

Many artists that have stayed at Orquevaux will write that they can never explain in words how amazing their experience has been. I agree, but as artists we really should try to describe the difference it can make… be it through words or song, movement, film or paint. I feel a duty to try to explain how one place can make a differnce. Chateau Orqueveaux is the difference.

From the moment you apply, you will feel supported and recognised. The organisation and management of this program is phenomenal. On every contact made it was efficient and personable. Having had to reschedule thanks to Covid a long awaited 3 year delay finally came to fruition. Planning and travel information is all clearly supplied. Expenses are outlined and imagery is true to life. Authenticity is one of the many qualities this residency program excels at. Accommodation and food is comfortable, clean and classy. The chateau and surrounds have been designed to make you feel at home in this fairyland location. All your meals and accommodation fees are included in the residency fee. A free pick up and departure drop off from the train station is also offered. There is a grocery run and days are scheduled with lots of studio time to create as well as optional activities such as life drawing, art management talks and a literature afternoon. Studio space is provided and regular studio drop ins are made by the Residency Director. An Open studio day rounds off the stays, where you get an insight into the process and direction of each artist in the program. The location and grounds provide bountiful inspiration and the residency cat (we all love Dusty) seems to drop into your studio just when you need the distraction. Many explain it as magical. The most magical thing is the transformative impact it will have on your own art career. No matter how experienced, no matter what your age or chosen art form, a residency at Chateau Orquevaux will reinvigorate your enthusiasm for your work. Beyond the picture postcard images, the people will help you learn how to believe in yourself again. They will show you why exercising your creativity and sharing it with the world is important. You will meet many other fellow residents who have doubted themselves throughout their creative careers. You will hear from others about what they have given up and sacrificed to get to this residency. The amazing team at Chateau Orqueveaux will show you how to find ways to stand up for yourself and your creativity. They will remind you that all those crazy quotes, poems, songs and books that you collect along the way made by other creators are important, and that there are others, just like you, that collect them too. You will be joined by other artists who all work hard, have self doubt and have experienced moments when they wanted to give up. But they didn’t. And because of that, you may find yourself eating your French croissant in the dining room of an ancient chateau looking out over a country vista and having breakfast conversations with all these amazing humans. You will be refueled and get a first hand look at what passion looks like. You will be reminded that you are there because somebody thought you were just like the others at the table, and that they decided you needed reminding. And here you are. Now believing in yourself and inspired to get going and do what it takes to make it happen.

I have a special thank you to all those who have built this amazing place and have taken the spirit of Denis Diderot and his hope that all of us may have access to knowledge, and put it into action. When you stay at the residency they will hand over the baton to you in the hope that you too will carry the seeds of inspiration and creativity away with you to plant, nurture and grow more ideas, make more work, and show others that their artistic journey is worth every step. Thanks to my experience at Chateau Orquevaux I return home with renewed vigor towards my artistic journey and a sense of urgency to help others find the joys...

What can I say here that hasn't already been said? This place is incredible and very special. Those five star reviews would all be tens if it were allowed. There is a magic here that can't be put in to words, and the care placed into the people chosen to be grouped together in my case made for some exquisitely serendipitous moments. I grew here artistically in a way I had never in my life been able to - having the space, freedom, time and loving support of wonderful people to explore and challenge myself to find those edges. (And great food!!) It helps to have a rambunctious cat around, and I will also say it could give back more depending what you put into it as well. I spent a lot of time preparing before I came to maximize what I could/couldn't do with duration of the residency and tools available in France, etc. though the absence of some things made me grow in new ways. (I also found things in the supply cabinet that saved me, and left a lot things myself at the end I hope can help someone in the same way!)

There is so much thoughtfulness put into every aspect of the stay at the Chateau. (I've worked in luxury hospitality for 8 years and was thoroughly impressed with the experience from start to finish.) Everything was clean, beautiful and brimming with charm. The grounds are spectacular and that is no exaggeration! Having a structure for meal times helped my sometimes off-in-the-clouds brain, and I really enjoyed the opportunities to expand my knowledge with the business & writing classes; I've taken some of those types of things in the past but the details here were fresh and relevant. All of it let me let go and focus entirely on art and community which are things I think we all don't get enough of in our day to day lives. The studio I was given was perfect for my needs, and I felt like anything I needed help with was attended to immediately.

Your time making art all culminates in an Open Studio day where everyone from your cohort gets to see what everyone else has been up to and making during the residency in a kind of tour/critique of all of the studios, and is an opportunity to showcase & share your space and creations in a way you would like others to see. I felt like it was kind of mini installation exhibit for me, and having that kind of finale helped me stay motivated at times to finish things, which I have a habit of getting 95% there and stopping when I am working on things at home. The last day before leaving you are helped in shipping things home and there is a reception gathering to send you off, one last time making all of us feel so special and seen and so appreciated as creatives. I felt like I won the lottery every single day I was there. Our group continues to stay connected after which is helping me ride the withdrawals from that heavenly place since leaving. I am so grateful to Beulah and Ziggy for creating this experience, it is sublime in the truest sense of the word. I am left in awe and hope I can come back in...