Joya: AiR + Mater / apply

Shared evening meals are prepared by Joya co-founder Donna Beckmann using seasonal, locally sourced, home-grown and plant-forward ingredients wherever possible. Long communal dinners form an important part of the residency structure, creating space for sustained conversation, critical exchange and informal discussion between participants from different disciplines and backgrounds.

Meals reflect Joya: AiR’s wider ecological approach: low-impact living, attentiveness to place and a close relationship between landscape, food systems and everyday practice.

The collaboration between Joya: arte + ecología / AiR and Mater is grounded in a shared interest in material practice. It brings together Joya: AiR’s distinct environmental and geographical context with Mater’s conversational, material-focussed approach. The week-long residency will offer time and space to work, as well as talks, direct encounters with landscape, and a collaborative workshop. 

This residency is curated by Maddie Rose Hills: artist and founder of Mater.

Mater is an interdisciplinary research and publishing platform founded by Maddie Rose Hills that explores the cultural, ecological and philosophical dimensions of materials through conversation, commissioned writing, interviews, exhibitions and podcasting. Bringing together artists, researchers, geologists, architects, curators, ecologists and writers, Mater examines how materials shape relationships between landscape, knowledge, labour and contemporary practice.

Mater: publishing project and podcast Mater: Instagram

Programme Outline:

31 October — Arrival

Residents arrive and settle into accommodation and studio spaces. Participants are asked to arrive by 16:00.

At 18:30, an informal introductory talk led by  Mater co-founder Maddie will introduce the thematic framework of the residency, outlining the relationship between material practice, landscape and ecological thinking that underpins the programme.

Dinner at 20:30.

1 November — Landscape, Material and Context

At 10:00, Simon Beckmann co-founder and curator of Joya: AiR will give an introductory presentation situating you within its environmental, geological and cultural context, followed by a guided walk through the surrounding landscape and an introduction to the work of  Material Cultures. Together these sessions will frame the residency’s engagement with material research, land use and site-responsive practice.

Duration approximately four hours.

At 18:30, the first artist presentations will begin, providing participants with the opportunity to introduce their practices, methodologies and current research interests within an informal group setting.

Dinner at 20:30.

2 November — Workshop and Exchange

The afternoon will be dedicated to a collaborative workshop led by Mater. The session will explore approaches to material inquiry, conversational practice and interdisciplinary exchange, encouraging participants to develop connections between research, making and site.

At 18:30, the second series of artist talks will continue.

Dinner at 20:30.

3–6 November — Studio Residency

These days are dedicated to independent studio practice, reflection and informal discussion. Participants will have uninterrupted time to develop work, research ideas and engage with the landscape and wider residency context.

Artist talks will continue on the evening of 3 November at 18:30.

On 6 November at 18:30, the residency will conclude with a shared evening of readings, presentations and informal discussion, offering participants the opportunity to reflect on the week’s conversations, material investigations and developing work.

Dinner each evening at 20:30.

7 November — Departure

Residents check out by 11:00.