photo Marie Smith

Joya: AiR / Marie Smith / ENG

‘I came to Joya: AiR with little expectation and was pleasantly overwhelmed by the beauty that I encountered, the stillness was much needed and being here provided me with a great prompt to start my year. Everyday I woke up with a compulsive need to walk and explore the area around me, I had not done this in some time and I felt at ease within the landscape which was expansive and forever providing me with new ways of framing my photographic practice. 

After walking round for a few days I started to feel at home and appreciated the rarity of being able to walk and feel safe in an unknown place, the peace and tranquility was liberating. I also made some sound recordings and I hope to incorporate this into my work.

I was also met with kindness and support by Simon and Donna, who were warm and generous with their time. I enjoyed their insight into the landscape and really admire what they are doing at Joya: AiR. I also enjoyed spending time getting to know the other artists at the residency and felt that I had made connections that will hopefully last a lifetime. Leaving Joya was emotional, but I will always remember my time there as the spark that motivated me to get back to myself at a time when I really needed to feel a connection with myself and my practice’. 

Marie Smith (She/Her)
Visual Artist/Writer

Marie Smith is a visual artist and writer born, living and working in London. Smith graduated in 2017 with a MA in History in Art with Photography at Birkbeck, University of London. Marie is undertaking an MPhil/PhD at UCA Farnham in Photography from September 2022. Marie’s practice incorporates text and digital and analogue photography as a form of visual language. Marie’s experience with anxiety/depression has informed how she addresses identity, nature, environmentalism, mental health and wellbeing in her practice. Marie is a member of Women Photograph. She is an Associate Lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London and Kingston University London.

Website: https://www.marieesmith.com   

Instagram: @marie_elaina_ 

photo Simon Beckmann

‘At Joya: AiR, I felt free to wander, physically and artistically. There is a natural emphasis on respect for and reciprocity with one’s environment which, for me, opened up a different way of thinking about my creative process.

Everything about the surroundings at Joya lends itself to reflection: the architecture, the landscape, the company of other artists. It is an environment where beauty and inspiration are easily found. I was able to reflect on my writing in a way that I previously hadn’t been able to, I reoriented myself and my work. Initially I worked on a long-form fiction project, but soon I found myself experimenting with the work in other genres and mediums.

Conversations with artists from a such wide range of disciplines broadened my understanding of my own writing. These past two weeks were a turning point for me as a writer, as an artist. Simon and Donna were wonderful hosts; they have created such a breathtaking and necessary space. I arrived at Joya: AiR with an intention, and left the residency with a renewed insight into my practice’.

Kandace Walker

I am a writer and filmmaker based in Wales and London. I studied MA Black British Writing at Goldsmiths, University of London. My writing has been published in The Guardian, Prototype and The Good Journal, among others. My short film 'Last Days of the Girl's Kingdom', produced in collaboration with DAZED and the ICA, was aired on Channel 4's Random Acts. In 2019, I won the Guardian 4th Estate BAME Short Story Prize with my story 'Deep Heart'. My essay 'Everything I Will Give You', exploring representations of intimate partner violence in Welsh and Kenyan mythology, appeared in 'Just So You Know', an anthology of Welsh writers published by Parthian Press. I am represented by Abi Fellows at The Good Literary Agency.

photo by Kandace Walker (wild swimming in November)

photo Simon Beckmann

“I started my masters research about environmental issues last year, I have been thinking about how art practices can reflect to it. Having a residency at Joya: AiR is no doubt a place where brought me inspiration and provided an environment for me to push my research idea further than staying in an urban city.

A week staying in Joya: AiR is a short but memorable experience. In the first few days, I finished a short essay for a magazine, and drafted another one with me fully able to concentration in the spacious studio with a French window facing the spectacular landscape. When I was not working, I took long walks, exploring the area with other residents. We shared ideas, our projects or even just talking our life stories while hiking in the rocky mountains, spring forests and the steep riverbed. It was inspiring to work together and to go through the whole processes of exploring, coming up with ideas, and testing the found materials, such as clay, stone, and plants. The rest of the days, I also did reading about the topic of materiality which concreted my research and formulated my potential future plan of making a publication. Joya: AiR is truly a good place for meditating, working productively and meeting amazing people from all around the world”!

Ya Tien Shih . https://yatienshih.wordpress.com/curatorialproject/whentheyflow/