“As an artist passionate about nature and drawing, the time spent at residency at Joya: AiR was exactly the place I needed to be after an intense pandemic year. Being in touch with the soul of the south of Spain through the walks around the area, sketches made directly from nature, the stare of trees during the day and the stars at night is something that is indescribable in just one sentence. The days at Joya: AiR not only informed my PhD research in drawing, but also allowed me to deeply connect with the nature around me and to myself. It is a process that just started there, and that I know will open more doors to my artistic practice.

Needless to say that the love that Simon and Donna give to this place is the most important piece that makes the experience at Joya: AiR impeccable. I felt nourished and taken care of in all details. I will never forget the delicious meals shared with the other residents during the nights full of interesting conversations around history, life, ecology and, of course, art.

Thanks for bringing such joy to the world”.

Grazielle Portella

Grazielle Portella is a Visual Artist, Designer and PhD Fellow in Fine Arts at the University of Lisbon, with full-scholarship funded by Foundation for Science and Technology - FCT (Portugal). Informed by philosophy, neuroscience and aesthetics theories, in her Doctorate research she develops the concept of slow drawing in a context of an accelerated post-digitalized world.
Her research emerges from her personal artistic practice, crossed by an extensive professional experience at big tech corporation (2011-2017, Google) and a Master in Digital Design (2016, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo), in which she problematized the greater usage of new technologies and the effects in both visual art and design fields. In this paradigm, she currently questions the importance of a contemplative, meditative and affective practices in contemporary art, proposing the act of drawing as a tool to engage into deeper levels of the presence, intuition, and empathy.