I was lucky to stay at Villa Lena in Tuscany, for an artist residency in the summer months of 2020
This was a peaceful and transformative experience during this strange and very unique year disrupted by the Covid 19 crisis. It was also a great honour to be able to create in this amazing atelier with the different talented artists from various disciplines and countries.
Here are some photographs to illustrate my studio in the olive trees
Here are some words about the foundation and their mission:
“Villa Lena is a not for profit organisation dedicated to supporting international contemporary artists working in art, music, film, literature and other creative disciplines and fostering opportunities for multi-disciplinary dialogue.
The element of collaboration and exchange is one of the founding principles of the Foundation, with the hope that by bringing together different areas of practice, new creative outlooks, unparalleled research and exciting new impulses will be generated.
The artist residency co-exists on the Villa Lena Estate with the Villa Lena hotel, restaurant and agricultural domain. The resident artists become part of the community life of the place and are welcomed to participate in the agricultural activities. The restaurant on site operates farm to table concept, with fresh ingredients grown in one of the Villa Lena vegetable gardens or sourced from local producers. The restaurant also runs a chef in residency program with a rotation of international chefs whose cooking principles align with the organic and sustainable concepts of Villa Lena.
Artists are all requested to donate a work to the Villa Lena Foundation at the end of their residency. Donated artworks hang throughout the property, giving the historical spaces a visual memory of past residents’ work and their experience of the place. The resulting art collection also forms a valuable asset that can be sold over time to make space for new artworks and to help raise funds for the continuation of the residency program.”
> villa-lena.it
