ARTIST RESIDENCY: SOUND OF SILENCE
š DURATION Long format stays (8-12 weeks). Available dates: * Mid/late June - End of July 2026. * Sept - Oct/Nov 2016 * Application for later dates also possible (see form below).
š LOCATION 20 ha Olive Farm near Elvas, Portugal
š§āāļø WHO CAN APPLY? Creators across a wide range of disciplines are welcome to apply: visual artists, writers, stage photographers, performance artists, musicians, architects, landscape designers, or guerrilla gardeners (among others).
šØ SETTING While you have all the freedom to create your own art, ritual, or performance, you will do so in the solitude of this vast space. Much like a silent retreat; most of the time you will only have the plants and animals to talk to or listen to, especially during the periods when we are not on the farm. Neighbors are within visual and walking distance, so you are not completely isolated.
š” SPACE Your will have a 55mĀ² loft-style side building with its own kitchen & bathroom, and a 12m2 studio, both with incredible views. The farm is semi-off-grid but well connected & with great Wi-Fi. Features ancient olive trees, a pool, a pergola, shady arcades and absolute quiet. When i am on the farm, Iād love to share some meals and show you the ins and outs of the farm and the region, but when I am away, you must be comfortable with solitude and the quiet meditation of nature to inspire your work. We will conclude the residency with an event of your choice hosted in the main building: an exhibition, reading, meditation or intimate concert to showcase your work - both in real life and online.
š¤ EXCHANGE This is an unpaid residency with free lodging but self-catered. While you can bring your partner or child, guests have to be announced and approved. As part of the residency and in exchange for the free logding, you will handle light caretaking when I am away, such as feeding the resident cat š, basic pool maintenance šāāļø, and keeping an eye on the property to report to me if the neighbors animals have trespassed (horses, goat, sheep) or if some other irregularities occur.
šĀ Minimum knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese is advisable as many people do not speak English here.
š¦Ā If you are a city person with cat allergies, donāt like cuddeling with cats, freak out when you see insects or other little animals, tend to get hay fever, or have similar nature related allergies, this residency might not be the right thing for you.
šŖĀ LOGISTICS Nearest airports: Badajoz/Spain (35 min), or Lisbon/Portugal (2h). If you fly into Badajoz I can pick you up. If you fly into Lisbon, you will have to take the bus to Elvas and I can pick you up at the local bus station. Because we are 6 km from Elvas, this is not walking distance to town. If you donāt have your own car, I will provide an electric bike that you can use for the times that I am not there.
š«Ā APPLICATION LINK
š RESIDENTS Joanna Asha Bronicki (April - June 2026) Contemporary visual artist who specializes in hyper-realistic drawings using charcoal and graphite. She has won multiple awards. Her works, such asĀ Reborn in AfricaĀ andĀ Innocence, have earned honors at theĀ KARTINA MIRAĀ International Competition, theĀ Chianciano Biennale, and theĀ Boynes Artist Award.
ABOUT THE SPACE
In 2021, I stumbled upon a magnificent piece of land that had been neglected for decades: a 20-hectare abandoned olive grove in Portugal that was more jungle than farm. You could not distinguish one tree from the other, the land was so overgrown that the road had vanished and I had to leave my car at the gate and trek 150 meters through the brush just to reach the house. After five years of clearing the wild, rehabilitating the buildings, and with the help of many other people, we have been able to transition this abandoned land and its building to a retreat where rustic charm meets modern comfort including organic olive farming.
This also marked my transition from a city person to a farmer, and it taught me the perverse economics of traditional agriculture: the hidden costs of protecting nature in an economic system that devalues it. While rehabilitating this space, i also finished the third edition of my book Token Economy. Now, after a decade in crypto, i am shifting gears and changing directionāback to my art rootsāreimagining the olive tree, not just as a crop, but as a nexus of ecology, economy, and art.
Rumi wrote "Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it."
I found that rehabilitating the land was, in many ways, a process of removing those barriers. Out of the quietness of this work, the old has fallen away so the new can emerge. I have named this place Labirinto EclĆ©ticoāan "Eclectic Labyrinth"āto honor the complex, winding path life can take and the wonderful hidden corners and spaces on this property. And I also dedicated a portion of the estate to an Artist-in-Residency program.
PICS
SPECIAL INVITE TO IRANIAN ARTISTS
In the 1500s, the Portuguese sailed to the Iranian island of Hormuz (aka Ormuz) to connect the Maritime Silk Road with the Persian empire. Back then, the Kingdom of Ormuz was one of the wealthiest, most vital trading hubs in the world, the ultimate chokepoint where the overland Silk Road from Persia and Central Asia met the sea routes coming from India and China.
The Portuguese conquered it. In 1515, Afonso de Albuquerque captured the Island of Hormuz. By controlling Hormuz, Malacca in Southeast Asia, and Goa in India, the Portuguese Empire effectively monopolized the entire Maritime Silk Road. For over a century, the Portuguese and Persians lived, traded, and intermingled on this island. Portuguese sailors, Persian merchants, Arab traders, and Indian sailors exchanged not just goods, but language, architecture, and art.
This maritime exchange flowed back across the ocean, permanently altering the cultural DNA of the Iberian Peninsula by embedding Islamic geometry, Eastern motifs, and vibrant ceramics into local design. As a result, the aesthetic legacy of the Silk Road remains deeply woven into the daily landscape of Portugal, visible in everything from its iconic azulejos (painted tiles) to its grand Manueline monuments. Now we are reversing the routeāinviting Iranian artists and artists from other countries along the former Silk Road to a Portuguese olive farm.