WORDS & MUSIC—A SPECIAL RESIDENCY FOR WRITERS AND COMPOSERS
PODERE MALABICCIA | TUSCANY, ITALY | OCTOBER 15–NOVEMBER 15, 2020
SSB is pleased to announce WORDS & MUSIC—a special one-month residency eligible for writers and composers. On a 40-acre working olive oil farm just outside the tiny hamlet of Petroio, Some Serious Business and artist Carey Maxon offer creators a tranquil sanctuary: a small stone cottage set in the heart of the sensory delights of Tuscan country life. Quiet, private, and inspiring, the residency offers writers and composers the time and space to rest, reflect, and work in a retreat environment far from the intensity of public life and artistic production. Preference will be given to mid-career artists and those seasoned in their chosen field. Students are not eligible. SSB is interested in a continuing relationship with residents and sees the residency as a starting point for future collaborative opportunities including readings and performances.
The three-week residency is entirely self-directed. The resident must be self-sufficient and comfortable with solitude. Materials about the region will be provided in advance. However, it is up to each individual to structure their time, shop and prepare meals, and make arrangements for transportation and activities beyond the farm. SSB will also offer a $1,000 artist stipend along with this residency. Airfare and car rental are not included.
Tuscany’s iconic Val d’Orcia is a landscape of inspiration and wonderment. Unforgettable rolling hills; exceptional vistas, churches and towns; Piero della Francesca frescoes; romantic labyrinths of stone walls and walking paths; and deep, soulful culinary traditions make it an extraordinary destination for the senses. Petroio’s charming main road spirals up to an ancient hilltop town where 200 residents continue the vital and timeless traditions of rural Italian village life. It is here that the villagers invented the classic artistic design and technology of the archetypical terra cotta pot. The farm is 20 minutes north of Pienza—the spectacular utopia of Renaissance architecture and a UNESCO Heritage site.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: March 15, 2020
ANNOUNCEMENT DATE: April l5, 2020
SSB AWAY retreats provide crucial time and space for artists to germinate ideas that might otherwise be marginalized during the intensity of public life and artistic production. A network of residences and workspaces offers artists the agency to take time away from their habitual surroundings, to rest and inhabit a nourishing space of creative sanctuary with solitude, access to nature, and multivalent privacy. SSB offers residencies in Abiquiu, New Mexico and Podere Malabiccia, Tuscany, Italy.