At the 4th INMC Meeting in Anderson, SC, member cities launched an artistic exchange project aimed at strengthening cultural ties between partners, while supporting artistic creation, education, and awareness.
The goal of the project is to invite one or more artists each year to stay in a city within the network, with a new host city selected each time. During their residency, artists have the opportunity to create new works inspired by the local environment, share their skills through workshops and community engagement, and contribute to the cultural life of the host city.
This residency not only allows artists to discover new horizons and enrich their own practice, but also promotes intercultural exchanges between citizens of partner cities. By encouraging artistic mobility and creation, the INMC affirms its commitment to promoting culture as a driver of social connection, innovation, and territorial vitality.
For summer 2025, British 3D artist, designer, and educator Julia Roy-Williams has been selected to take up residence at Chalet Lecoq, an artist residency located in the heart of Clermont-Ferrand. She shared the space with Krystyna Sirenko, a visual artist from Krementchouk (another INMC member city), adding a strong intercultural dimension to the experience. This residency is especially meaningful, as Julia hails from Salford, Manchester—Clermont-Ferrand’s first twin city—while Krystyna comes from Krementchouk, Ukraine, its most recent. Both cities are part of the INMC.
Julia Roy-Williams specializes in creating jewelry from recycled materials, using her creativity to respond to challenges around innovative recycling, particularly of plastic waste. During her residency, she explored the tension between nature and human-made materials, grounding her practice in a city shaped by geology. Her work transforms discarded plastics into what she calls a “geology of the future,” compressing waste into formations that resemble sedimentary layers.
She also drew inspiration from the lush vegetation of the Lecoq Garden, where she observed the local flora. Fascinated by the shapes and colors of flowers—such as wisteria and dahlias that adorn the park—she recreated artistic versions of them, blending nature with recycled materials in a process that is both poetic and committed.
Julia also shared her artistic skills during workshops at the Centre Anatole France in Clermont-Ferrand, a youth-oriented third-place equipped with a Fablab. She combined creation and knowledge-sharing with both young participants and staff, especially in the use of Fablab equipment: 3D printer, press, laser cutter, and related software. A win-win exchange that enriched the artist and left a lasting impression on the youth of Clermont-Ferrand.
