This page presents the hosting framework at Open Kerminy and allows you to check whether the place, its way of operating, and the conditions correspond to your visit before contacting us. Please read it carefully.
Open Kerminy operates through self-management and has no salaried administrative staff. More than 250 residents come to Kerminy each year.
To allow us to process requests efficiently, without multiplying exchanges, please make sure that your visit fits the framework presented here and send us a request that is as precise as possible, including:
A desired period of stay, with
exact dates (arrival and departure), and/or
several alternative time slots if the main period is already full;
The number of people involved, specifying if possible your preferred bed arrangement (single and/or double beds);
The type of stay (individual residency, collective, group, school, research, etc.).
These elements allow us to confirm a period of stay directly or to propose an alternative compatible with the site’s availability.
We prioritize requests that clearly include this information.
Open does not select residents based on an application file, artistic project, or portfolio.
It is therefore not necessary to describe your project in detail: a clear request with dates, number of people, and type of stay is sufficient.
Open Kerminy is a seasonal place. The main hosting period runs from April to October. The months from June to September are the most in demand. The site is almost closed in winter, from November to March. Some periods may be reserved for events or specific types of hosting; availability depends on the site’s overall calendar.
Open primarily hosts individual residencies or small working collectives. These are intended for artists, writers, researchers, and students seeking autonomous working time, with no obligation of production, presentation, or public visibility. The place is shared, and its functioning relies on cohabitation and self-management.
The Château de Kerminy has more than fifteen bedrooms. Open therefore favors single-room accommodation. Sharing a room (with single beds) remains exceptional and is considered only for one or two days, in cases of high occupancy, unforeseen situations, or group hosting. Whenever possible, we aim to preserve comfortable conditions suited to each person’s work.
When requesting a group stay, please indicate whether you prefer single or double beds. Rooms are assigned upon arrival. It is possible to change rooms during the stay, especially after busy periods, depending on availability.
The Kerminy site includes a château of approximately 900 m², with bedrooms and several shared workspaces, including a large living room (approx. 9 × 5.5 m) and a library.
The site also includes outbuildings, notably the Ecosoma room (approx. 14 × 4.5 m × 7 m high), dedicated to bodily, somatic, or musical practices, as well as shared workshops in the former stables (approx. 150 m²), suitable for making, research, and experimentation.
The use of these spaces is shared, flexible, and collectively organized among residents according to periods and needs.
Open may occasionally reserve or limit access to certain spaces when hosting collectives or groups, mainly in spring and autumn. This situation is exceptional in summer, when spaces are most often shared, using daily reservation boards.
The Château de Kerminy is an old building in which sound travels easily from one space to another. Residents are therefore required to adapt their sound practices to the collective setting and to other ongoing uses.
Musical, sound-based, or collective practices in the château must be anticipated, announced, and adjusted in order to allow coexistence between work, rest, and concentration.
The château is not suited to intensive or continuous sound use without prior discussion.
The outbuildings located around the château can, however, accommodate such practices when authorized and organized within that framework.
Respect for these principles conditions the quality of the stay and the possibility for everyone present to work.
Life at Kerminy varies greatly depending on the time of year.
Some periods are quiet and conducive to individual work.
Others are denser, with collective residencies, events, or parallel activities (PARK, Fluxon, meetings organized by our partners).
These rhythms are an integral part of the site’s ecosystem and should be taken into account when preparing your stay.
For regulatory and safety reasons, Open Kerminy cannot host children.
The site is not classified as a public-access venue (ERP), and its uses are reserved for a professional framework (work residencies, research, creation). This constraint is linked to the configuration of the site, its legal status, and associated safety obligations.
Similarly, animals (dogs, cats, or others) cannot be accommodated.
This rule is related to the sharing of living and working spaces, the concentration required for the practices hosted, and constraints linked to the buildings and their maintenance.
Everyone organizes their working time autonomously, without fixed schedules. Life on site nonetheless relies on shared practices: informal meals, upkeep of common spaces, and occasional collective moments.
A regular shared moment takes place each week: the Klean Party, on Fridays at 11 a.m.—a simple, convivial time to take care of the place together. Please take this into account when organizing your stay.
Open Kerminy operates without cleaning staff.
The maintenance of spaces is part of collective life and helps keep the place accessible and welcoming.
Each resident is invited to clean up after use, take part in everyday tasks, and remain attentive to the needs of the place. There is no strict schedule: taking care of the space also means taking care of the people who work there—today and tomorrow.
The Open team is not permanently present on site. Hosting is autonomous, supported by the people present and the documents made available.
French and English are commonly used at Open. Exchanges take place informally, depending on the people present.
Stays at Open Kerminy are based on a high degree of autonomy for the people hosted. The place is conceived as a space where one comes to work, research, experiment, and organize time according to one’s own needs.
Residents are invited to prepare their visit and to carry out their project autonomously, before and during the stay. The permanent Open team focuses on hosting, the functioning of the place, and the collective framework; it does not provide formal artistic, technical, pedagogical, or scientific support, and cannot answer questions related to project production, content, or preparation.
That said, stays take place in contact with other artists, researchers, and practitioners present on site, and very often give rise to informal exchanges, discussions, sharing of practices, or unexpected encounters. The size and composition of the on-site community vary depending on the period, and no particular presence can be guaranteed, but experience shows that the place almost always fosters meaningful circulation and unexpected crossings.
For questions that go beyond the strictly practical framework of hosting, residents are encouraged to rely on the broader Kerminy community: via social networks (Mastodon, Instagram) or the Open Kerminy Telegram channel, where many people who have stayed or regularly work on the site are connected.
There is no obligation of presentation, public showing, or production at the end of a stay. Open primarily provides a flexible, shared working framework that leaves each person free to define what matters for their own work, at their own pace and in their own forms.
The reference contribution to stay-related costs is €20 per day per person, to which an annual association membership (€12) is added. This contribution supports the running costs of the place and helps maintain Open Kerminy as an autonomous and accessible workspace.
When standard financial conditions are not possible, some requests may fall under the KAF, Open’s artistic support fund. The KAF is a regulated scheme, collectively managed by members, activated upon request and on a case-by-case basis. It does not constitute an automatic right, nor an exchange of services or time for accommodation.
A stay request does not constitute a reservation. Availability is first discussed with the Open association. Confirmation of the stay occurs only after dates are validated and payment is made. Until payment is completed, the place is not held. Payment details are communicated after the request is validated.
Hosting groups, schools, or universities falls under a specific framework, distinct from individual residencies. Please consult the dedicated page before making any request.
Open Kerminy is located in Rosporden (Finistère, Brittany). Rosporden SNCF train station is served by direct trains from Paris, Rennes, Nantes, and Brest, and is about two kilometers from the site.
From the station, it is possible to reach Kerminy on foot (approx. 35–40 minutes), by taxi (Guéna Taxi: +33 (0)2 98 59 97 34; indicative fare approx. €8 during the day and €9 on weekends and public holidays), or, depending on the period, via informal carpooling with people on site (please use the Open Telegram network to offer or request a ride). The site is also accessible by car, with parking available on site.
As the Open team is not permanently present, arrival and settling in can be done autonomously using the provided documents. Local shops are located in Rosporden; bicycles are available.
Once your stay is confirmed, you will have access to the Logbook, which gathers all practical and technical information needed to arrive, settle in, and live your stay at Kerminy autonomously.
Once your stay is confirmed, you will be invited to consult the welcome booklet, practical information, and the logbook, as well as the conditions of stay and house rules. These documents allow you to prepare your visit and live your stay at Kerminy autonomously.
Voici la traduction en anglais, claire et fidèle au ton du texte original :
If, after reading this page, the hosting framework corresponds to your visit and your dates are defined, you may write to us at the following address:
open@kerminy.org
Requests that are complete and compatible with the way the place operates are given priority.
Important
A stay request does not constitute a reservation.
Dates are always validated by email exchange with the Open team.
Once your stay has been confirmed by the association, you will be able to proceed with the annual membership and the payment of the daily contribution via the following link:
A stay is considered confirmed only after the dates have been validated and payment has been received.