“Joya: AiR equals time. Just being two weeks there has given me (and I think all the others residents could confirm it) another perception. In Joya: AiR, time works in a different way: days are longer, although we always surrounded the fire at 6.30 pm, as if a low warming voice were inviting us to sit down and enjoy reading, talking or wondering about what wonderful dinner would Donna cook that night.

I have had lots of spare time to distribute in between organizing, documenting, correcting and working on my writing, wich has been key, but also I was able of taking long walks around the area (with its pine forest, dry rivers, caves, ruins and different landscapes to explore); watching the sunsets and the stars, getting to know the other artists and feeding myself with all those experiences. I felt I was not only in a providing environment but in the right place for me and for the incredible people I have met there.

Last week, I came back home knowing something has clicked in my mind. Joya: AiR is still with me or I am still there, somehow. And I am sure this is going to get me to a new (mental, artistic, maybe geographic) place. And I am thankful for that”.

Iria Fariñas

Iria studied Professional Formation in Visual Arts (Coco School, Alicante), a Poetry Masters (Billar de letras, Madrid) and she is currently studying Translation (Universidad Europea, Madrid). She has six publications: a short story called "Gritar en voz baja" (ed. Entre Ríos) and four poetry books: "Las huellas deshabitadas" (ed. Talón de Aquiles), "Antinomia" (Postdata ediciones), "Vista aérea" (ed. Entre Ríos) and "Ayer ya será tarde". The other publication is a novel she published more than ten years ago. She has won awards (mostly in micronarratives and some in poetry) and she has been published in various magazines, fanzines and anthologies. In addition she directs sociocultural project that work creativity with underprivileged schools in Alicante.