photo Joseph Costi

Joya: AiR / Joseph Costi / Venezuela

‘It’s hard to explain how inspiring and significant my time at Joya: AiR was. I went with the idea that I wanted to get a lot of work done. I had no idea that the environment that I found myself in was going to redefine the whole conception of what I wanted to do. 

The first factor that I wasn’t aware was going to impact my practice so directly was the nature around me. Every morning I’d wake up early so I could witness the dawn, the colours were incredible, I couldn't get enough of this for the whole month I was there. Then every day I’d go on walks and explore the land around Joya. That experience made me feel very much in touch with nature and it grounded me in a way that I haven’t felt in a long time. 

The second factor was the community at Joya: AiR, Simon and Donna were very accommodating and made us feel part of their family. Every night we had the most delicious and wholesome meals cooked by Donna and Simon made banging Paellas too. They also taught us more about the beautiful project that they started together and how they have slowly builded a very unique experience for an artist that keeps developing and growing.

The third factor was the people we met. The fellow residents became a key element of the experience as we made friends for life. Also sharing my progress with the artists was a big influence in my process and helped me unlock certain blocks I had in my practice. I'm still processing the time I spent at Joya as it was extremely meaningful to me as an artist and human being’. 

Joseph Costi

Having studied classical composition in his native country Venezuela, Joseph moved to London to continue his composition studies and received a BA first class in Jazz and Composition from Middlesex University. 

After graduating he became involved in several projects that have taken him all around the UK and Europe. Some notable artists he has played/recorded with are Yusuf Cat Stevens, Dizraeli, Tom Herbert, Heidi Vogel (Cinematic Orchestra)

Since the pandemic he has been building his own studio and started exploring  by composing and recording music for short films, documentaries, collaborations with other artists as well as songwriting.

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Adriana Jaroslavsky / Venezuela

‘Being at Joya: AiR for the month of January allowed for a slower pace, more nurtured connections and explorations. The sense of community and total immersiveness into the natural landscape felt like a true embrace! 

Technically, I learned how to make paint and ink from natural elements and resources. I created a palette that speaks of the memories, the space and the time spent at Joya. Emotionally, I learned how to be at one with myself and others. I learned the power of kindness and how we are all such fragile and vulnerable beings. 

Everything I learned and found at Joya: AiR has allowed me to accept my own self and surrender into my truest of passions, my urges, my work that is also my life. 

Science has discovered that we can’t form memories unless we’re aware of the spaces in which the experience happened. It goes beyond the poetics of space, we are constantly mapping memories and experiences in order to remember feelings and emotions. I’ll always remember this space for all it did to my soul and to my being. 

With special thanks to Simon and Donna. The ‘padres’ of this profound and enriching experience / space and the fellow artist who we were lucky to have shared the residency with. We made friends for life’. 

Adriana Jaroslavsky

Adriana has a degree in Visual Communication from ProDiseño university (Caracas, Venezuela) and a second degree in Textile Design from Chelsea University of The Arts / UAL (London, UK). She currently continues her practice in London.

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Solana Tixi / ARG

‘I applied to Joya: AiR with the idea of deepening the writing process for my first novel. My plans changed when I was invited to participate in a group show in Madrid for which I had to make a series of clay sculptures. I decided to allocate the time of the residency for the production of the pieces.
I had certain ideas that I wanted to work on and had set myself a set of rules for the process, but when I got to Joya, I was completely immersed in the mountains and rocks. I was crossed by the landscape and the exchange with the other people who were there. I abandoned the ideas that I brought with me and found the mother mold for my sculptures in the stone walls that surrounded the house.
The weeks I have spent in Joya: AiR have helped me deepen my practice in such a profound way that I am sure will change a lot the way I see certain things of my process as an artist.
I feel that beyond the devoted attention that Simon and Donna have with all residents, the unbeatable nurturing food and the coziness of every corner in the Cortijada Los Gázquez, the most important thing is the safe environment for openness and creation. To have allowed that to happen it’s the most precious achievement. I will be forever grateful to Simon and Donna and the temple they have built’.

 ///

’Apliqué a Joya: AiR con la idea de profundizar el proceso de escritura para mi primera novela. Mis planes cambiaron cuando fui invitada a participar de una muestra colectiva en Madrid para la que debía presentar una serie de esculturas en arcilla. Decidí adjudicar el tiempo de la residencia para la producción de las piezas.
Tenía ciertas ideas sobre las que quería trabajar y me había impuesto una serie de reglas para realizar el trabajo, pero al llegar a Joya, me sumergí por completo en las montañas y las rocas. Fui atravesada por el paisaje y el intercambio con las otras personas que estaban allí. Abandoné las ideas que traía conmigo y en las pircas de piedras que rodeaban la casa encontré el molde madre para mis esculturas.
Las semanas que he pasado en Joya: AiR me han ayudado a cuestionar mi práctica de una manera tan profunda que estoy segura que cambiará mucho mi forma de ver ciertas cosas de mi proceso como artista.
Siento que más allá de la atención dedicada que tienen Simon y Donna con todos los residentes, la comida nutritiva inigualable y la calidez de cada rincón en la Cortijada Los Gázquez, lo más importante es el ambiente seguro para la apertura y la creación. Haber permitido que eso sucediera es el logro más preciado. Estaré eternamente agradecida con Simon y Donna y el templo que han construido’.

Solana Tixi

Solana Tixi an Argentine writer and visual artist. She holds an undergraduate degree in Social Communication from Universidad Austral of Buenos Aires and a master’s degree in Art Direction from Elisava Escuela Superior de Diseño e Ingeniería de Barcelona. Since 2018 she has exhibited her work individually and collectively in Argentina and in Spain. In 2022 she curated a group show called Neurocisne at the MCMC gallery in Buenos Aires. Solana currently lives in Buenos Aires.

Instagram: @solanatixi

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Gwen Walstrand / USA

‘Arriving at Joya: AiR from the Ozarks region of the United States was rather like landing on the moon, a landscape unreal in its rugged, white soil surrounded by the peaks of the Sierra Maria. And Joya, the jewel, is positioned with views all around, dramatic skies, a goat named Fou Fou, a dog named Frida, and nourishing conversations along with fabulous food. Our evenings around the fire sparked lively conversations and rapt appreciation of the smells from Donna’s kitchen and the sounds of Joseph on the piano. Simon offered a wealth of information about the region and life off-grid as well as humor and general support. Throughout the days, we retreated to our studios or ventured out to walk and work, but were pulled back to the communal spaces in the evenings, creating a unique art family of wildly diverse beings.

I arrived at Joya: AiR with boxes of unexposed 4x5 film, my camera, and few ideas about what could happen there. I left with an attachment to this special community, new ways of considering the phenomena of landscape, and many negatives with which to spend the coming months reimagining intersections of nature and culture’.

Gwen Walstrand

Gwen Walstrand is a Springfield, Missouri based artist and Professor of Photography at Missouri State University. Gwen has exhibited her photographs in national and international exhibitions including shows Rome with Loosenart, in Venice at the Arte Laguna Prize exhibition, at the Koli Cultural Foundation in Finland, in Spain at the prestigious biennial FotoNoviembre, at Santa Reparata Gallery of Contemporary Art in Florence, Italy, Muse Gallery in Philadelphia, and SoHo Photo Gallery in New York City. Gwen has received artist in residency awards from the Ucross Foundation in Clearmont, Wyoming, Koli Cultural Society in Koli, Finland, ChiantiArts in Rignana, Italy, Arte Studio Ginestrelle in Assisi, Italy, Jentel Arts in Banner, Wyoming, and Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts in Nebraska City, Nebraska. Her work has been published in Orion Magazine-Nature/Culture/Place and in two editions of Christopher James’ Book of Alternative Photographic Processes. Gwen’s work has been collected by the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Tenerife Espacio de las Artes in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Mulvane Art Museum in Topeka, the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in Little Rock, as well as by private collections.

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

Joya: AiR / Alessa Joosten / DEU

‘My two weeks in Joya: AiR were the best start into the new year I can imagine. It was not only a good way to escape the gray cold winter in Germany. The stay also grounded me again and helped me to get new energy. After a long creative break, Joya was the perfect place for a fresh start, freed from pressure to go new ways. A big part of this was the warm community. The common exchange with the other residents about the work, the state of mind or common interests were very fulfilling. Going for walks together and evenings spent together in front of the fireplace helped make us feel like a little family.

Donna and Simon also played a big part in making me feel very comfortable. It seems like they dedicate their lives to the Joya project and you can feel the warmth and joy they have in being surrounded with the artists. The varied and nourishing dinner that Donna lovingly cooked for us was the highlight of each day.

I enjoyed the silence and tranquility at Joya. The world seems to turn a little slower there and life is dictated by the rhythm of nature. We witnessed a breathtaking starry night with shooting stars and a full moon night as bright as day. Besides the old riverbed, the back of the house was one of my favorite places. There was the best space for sunny breaks from work with a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains.

The first week was full of excursions into nature and collecting objects from the surrounding area. There was only us there. Influenced by the landscape and by the other artists, my work in the second week was affected by the surroundings. Surrounded by so much clay, it was natural to make clay myself. This process was lengthy but created a bond with the material. Baking the clay in the fire also felt very close to nature.

I thank Simon and Donna, as well as the other Residencies for this inspiring time that I will always carry in my heart. I took home so many good memories, and a suitcase full of works’.

Alessa Joosten

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Daniel Angermann / DEU

‘I had traveled to the place without expectations. I found there a side of my personality that I had already denied. I learned to breathe more consciously and to recognize and acknowledge myself more strongly in the mirror of nature as a part of it. The silence of this place away from urban centers - centered me. 

Especially the meeting with people, the exchange and the community was what I was most afraid of and what I miss the most after my departure. It is a wonderful place for intercultural exchange. What is essential is that this place connects everyone with each other regardless of the respective artistic disciplines and thus strengthens a strong universal connection.

This place is a good example of how we should live in the future, in harmony with nature and encourages one not to give up, to keep engaging in it and to act sustainably. Simon and Donna holistically make you feel welcome, just as you are. They are very open and love to nourish people with more than good food.

I will remember this place as the world as it should be. As the world I want to be in, even if there are worlds beside it. I was able to grow and get closer to my nature. For that I am infinitely grateful’.

;)

Daniel Angermann

Graphic -Artist and Co-Founder of Büro Freiheit

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Tim Southall / ENG

‘What an opportunity for an emerging artist, like me, to be able stay at Joya: AiR with our hosts Simon and Donna, two experienced artists Cora and Katerina and Dan an accomplished author/playwright.  Simon and Donna made me feel very welcome, providing a studio space, preparing delicious Spanish meals, sharing their experience of establishing Joya and their lives as artists. We all shared convivial meals, listened to each other’s talks about our art practices, fireside chats, and watched the World Cup together.

Every day, I had an early breakfast so I could enjoy walking in the Sierra in the clear mountain air as the mist started to lift and reveal the arid, stony terrain and panoramic mountain landscapes. My lack of art materials did not matter as I found that in the beautiful pine forests, rocky mountain tops, clay laden fields, almond plantations and deep barrancos that I was inspired to create land art with the materials to hand.

In this beautiful environment with its quiet stillness, I was able for the first time to experience ‘wild walking’ with no map, no compass and no footpaths walking where I wished and learning quickly to read the terrain and to observe the different shapes of mountains and other geographical features for future reference points; ironically the only time I became lost was when I was trying to follow a waymarked trail!  Walking every day I had the time and space to think about my own art practice and how it might develop in the future. The residency also gave me the time, with the support of my fellow artists, to think through my dissertation that seeks to discover whether the practice of contemporary artists has been influenced by their religious or spiritual beliefs.

It has been an unforgettable experience which has far exceeded my wildest expectations for my first residency.

Tim Southall

Tim Southall

A Bristol based mixed media artist, who enjoys working on collaborative, community and public art opportunities. His artworks reflect his life as a Quaker, career developing affordable homes and his wish to engage the viewer through his sculptures to observe the aesthetic and sustainable qualities of cardboard and other found materials.

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Stephanie Kyek / Portugal

“I came to Joya: AiR with the intention of making an experimental short film, applying the concept of land maps to the human body. It was to be an extension of a previous work in residency.

On arrival, I was stunned by the silence of the valley. Ironically, I found myself more distracted in the peaceful Spanish countryside, than in the noisy city I came from. I began incorporating the wanderings of my mind into my work, by documenting the work/thought process. My initially experimental film started developing a surprisingly narrative arc and morphed into a documentary exploration of my relationship with the camera.

I’m always surprised at how residencies change my work, challenging me to evolve and stretch my practice in different directions. I certainly learned a lot about myself, and I’m incredibly grateful for my experiences in Joya, where I had the unique opportunity of being able to explore my practice without the pressure of time and to become intimately, most dearly, acquainted with my medium, the camera.

I warmly encourage future residents to let the valley inspire and challenge their work, as it did so beautifully mine”.

Stephanie Kyek

Born in Brussels to German and Portuguese parents, Kyek first started her artistic career in music as a preCollege student at the ZHdK in Zürich. Freom there she proceeded to studying cinema & moving image in Arco, Lisbon, before attending a postgraduate course in Norwich University of the Arts. Inspired by the combination of sound and image, she now work as an audio-visual artist, currently based in Lisbon. Her work has been awarded an honourable mention at Fnac Novos Talentos 2019, as well as a first prize in the open call “O resgate do soldado Brian” hosted by Balaclava Noir for the short film “Whale Song”. Her most recent films have been screened in the Cinemateca Lisbon, in the British Amateur International Film Festival and in Bad Film Fest '21. In collaboration with other audio-visual artists, she has also had the opportunity to exhibit films in Curtas Vila do Conde '21, IndieLisboa '21 and DocLisboa. Her work exhibits a strong emphasis on sound, very much influenced by her early education in music. Her interests tend to revolve around the topics of communication, water and female consciousness.

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Hollie Teutscher / NZL

"I arrived to Joya after months of travel in Europe and Africa, and a somewhat tumultuous year behind me.  It was a stark change, sitting in the stillness that enveloped Joya. I welcomed it fully.  I expected to be more productive over the month I spent at Joya, but this time called for a lot of introspection, and as I walked through the ravines and forest every day, I reflected on my experiences and what that meant for my art practice.  Slowly I started to collect bones, seeds, thistles and thorns as I explored the dry unfamiliar terrain.  Gifted feathers, intriguing plants and rocks from the other artists, found their way into my studio. I started to unpick old muslin and cotton dresses and weave it all together.  Working only with what I had in my suitcase.

The experience of this residency was powerful for me. Simon and Donna have created an absolute haven for artists, while also facilitating, educating and encouraging.  I took away new connections, to both people and land, and a new outlook and understanding of my art practice. “

Hollie Teutscher

Hollie Teutscher is a multi-disciplinary artist from Auckland, New Zealand, working in mediums ranging from drawing, weaving, installation, sculpture, ceramics and inks. She explore themes of interconnection, cycles, patterns and energies present within nature through an enquiry into her surroundings’.

Education 2019 - 2021 Bachelor of Fine Arts Department of Fine Arts Whitecliffe College of Art and Design, Auckland, New Zealand.

Awards 2021 Winner: Gordon Harris Mid-Year Award, Whitecliffe College of Art and Design, Auckland, NZ 2021 Winner/Highly Commended: Eden Arts Awards, Webb’s Auction House, for Whispered Trajectories Exhibitions 2022 Group Exhibition, Eden Arts Awards, Webb’s Auction House, Auckland, NZ 2021 Group Exhibition, Whitecliffe Year 3 Graduate Show, Whitecliffe Studios, Auckland, NZ 2020 Group Exhibition, Artists Coming Together, Dakota, Auckland, NZ

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / writer Daniel Wade / IRE

‘At Joya: AiR, the true meaning of splendid isolation became clear to me. 

I’ve always worked best in solitude, and so the rugged tranquility of the Andulacian countryside surrounding the cortijo provided a welcome silence that I needed to work. In my experience, a drastic change of scenery has never failed to electrify my creative juices, and this change was no different. 

I arrived there in December, with an aim toward getting started on a new novel entitled ‘Tower of Silence’. I'd been making preparatory drafts for this project over the last few years, but, preoccupied by various other endeavours, I had yet to properly sit down and get it under way.  

Set in contemporary Dublin, Tower of Silence concerns a wide array of characters who find themselves embroiled in a nocturnal katabasis of revenge and reluctant criminality - and all underpinned by a premium of clipped, Dublin-infused profanity and amateur philosophy.  

My designated office in the cortijo offered a stunning view of the Velez Rubio mountains, a steel weather vane and a set of solar panels that followed the sun on its daily excursion. I could get up and have a coffee and work in the room’s natural light, the slow conversion of daybreak into dusk playing out right in front of me. Thus, I was ensured of ample natural stimuli. The arid, isolated and dust-clouded environ of pine trees, thistles and meandering trails that lured one further and further into the wilderness, so unlike the close-knit barometry of Dublin, helped clarify the rhythm of my characters’ thoughts, and amplify their often-savage veering between profundity and profanity. It is this veering that I have been trying, ever since I began writing seriously, to render explicitly on the page. At Joya: AiR, I finally felt like I’d made progress on it.   

It is no small irony that the novel is set in a milieu that is utterly divergent to that in which its first few chapters were written; yet this very incongruence aided its beginnings. The clear air at a high altitude, the dust clinging to my boots whenever I went on a hike, the sheer weight of history that seemed to simmer at every angle - none of it was lost on me. 

I have a lot of hope for this book. 

I don’t take hope for granted.’

Daniel Wade

Daniel has been writing seriously for over a decade. He writes poetry, drama, and prose. In June 2015, following his graduation from the Institute of Art, Design & Tehnolongy (IADT), his radio drama, 'The Outer Darkness' was broadcast on Dublin South FM. The following year, his spoken-word album ‘Embers and Earth’ was launched at the National Concert Hall, Dublin. His first stage play, a crime drama called 'The Collector', opened the 20th-anniversary season of the New Theatre, Dublin and was described as “a brutally convincing portrayal of Dublin City life” by The Irish Times. His second radio drama 'Crossing the Red Line' was broadcast on RTE Radio 1 Extra, and later won a silver award at the New York Festivals Radio Awards for Best Digital Drama. His work has won awards, including the Hennessy New Writing (2015), the Write by the Sea Award (2019), and the Eamon Keane Full-Length Play Award (2022). 2021 saw the publication of both his poetry collection 'Rapids' (Finishing Line Press) and his novel 'A Land Without Wolves' (Temple Dark Books).

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Carolina Forrs / FIN

‘The surrounding nature at Joya: AiR is very different to the nature in Finland, where I am from. Even the quietness when walking in the dried river, outside the residency, sounded and felt different. I spent twelve unforgettable days at Joya: AiR. The days consisted of exploring, documenting, writing, long walks, and collecting what nature had left behind in the surrounding landscape. My work focused on colour research, photography, drawing, and sketching what I saw and found.

The timing for my residency was perfect, since November is a dark, cold, rainy, and grey month in Finland. The weather in southern Spain was quite the opposite. The landscape surrounding the residency is very picturesque, and both the sunrises and sunsets are magical – not to forget the unbelievable starry nights!  

I really enjoyed the shared (and delicious!) meals with the other residents, playing with Koda and Frida, and living a slow paced life. Thank you so much to all residents and a special thanks to Simon and Donna. 

Carolina Forrs

Carolina has worked in multidisciplinary projects together with historians and business students. She has been active in writing for the Finnish fashion magazine Gloria as well as done styling jobs for clients such as Vogue Arabia and Finnish knitwear brand Arela. She has experience from H&M in Stockholm and Eckhaus Latta in New York, where she worked with knitwear and womenswear. Her work has been featured in Vogue Italy, Elle Finland and showcased at H&M Design Award, at Copenhagen Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week.

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Katherine Fawssett / GBR

In no particular order some of my favourite things about my wonderful stay at Joya: Air…

Darkness and sunlight

The almond Trees and grasses

Sunset and the stars

Pomegranates and honey

The Barranco & having my own darkroom 

Making Photograms again

Great Company

Delicious Meals cooked by Donna and sometimes Simon

Euphorbias and Syrian Firs.

Rocks, roots and clay

Silence and underfloor heating

Cyanotypes with the perfect shadows

Olives

Learning about Irrigation Systems

Mapping the land

Observing planting trees preparation in dry landscapes

Time , time to read

The place itself

Katherine Fawssett Photographer and Planting Designer 

photo Simon Beckmann

I know there is no straight road
No straight road in this world
Only a giant labyrinth
Of intersecting crossroads

Comprendo que no existe
El camino derecho
Solo un gran labertino
De encrucijadas multiples

extract, “Los puentes colgantes / Floating Bridges” from Suites

by Frederico Garcia Lorca

It has taken over three years for me to complete a residency at Joya Air - due to circumstances beyond any control. 

Arriving at night, crosscountry from Granada to Vélez Rubio, past the castle at Vélez Blanco - a white dust road meanders into the Sierra Maria-Los Vélez Natural Park - a stark landscape silhouetted against the star filled sky. Perhaps the very effort of arriving is part of the allure, and the warm hospitality that harbours in the expansive land where all are free to walk, think and make. 

Through the medium of photography, drawing, walking and installation, my work investigates what it is to be a part of nature, how to establish a reciprocal relationship with it while recording and taking note of detail. I arrived with a box, some pencils, notebooks and a camera. Every morning I would rise early to wander, initially exploring the barranco (dry riverbed) that channels flash flood water from the hillside to the valley, then up through almond and olive terraces to deserted farmsteads. 

Simon had told us that there had been very little rain in the area since April and that the land was particularly dry following summer heatwaves across Europe. Andalucía is one of the most vulnerable regions in Europe to climate change and without careful land and water management desertification of this region will intensify.

My instinct was to collect rock, old tins, roots, seeds, snail shells and broken objects discarded in the landscape and bring them back to the studio to draw, photograph and, where cracked or broken - repair. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by applying a lacquer dusted with powdered gold. As a philosophy, it regards breakage as part of the history of an object and the repair remembers the fault rather than make it disappear.

I have returned to the UK with a collection of material that feels like the start of a body of work and an imagination reignited by the experience of being embedded in a new and remarkable place.

Thank you Simon and Donna for creating a regenerative haven in a spectacular part of the world.

Kelly Hill

Kelly Hill is one of the co-founders of Culture Declares Emergency, a growing community of creative practitioners concerned about the dire state of our living planet. Since launching in April 2019, over 1000 individuals and organisations have ‘declared’ an emergency as part of a movement demanding systemic change to support life on Earth.  Kelly works closely with Writers Rebel - a group of novelists, poets, screenwriters and academics who use the power of words to claim a safer, fairer future for all the planet’s inhabitants – human and non-human. Most recently on the development of the Paint the Land projects that link high-profile writers with well-loved and emerging visual artists to create landscape graffiti with a powerful ecological message to address the climate and ecological emergency. 

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Cora Jongsma / NDL

Fragements of the dikes

“It is of the essence of life that it does not begin here or end there, or connect a point of origin with a final destination, but rather that it keeps on going, finding a way through the myriad of things that form, persist and break up in its currents. Life, in short, is a movement of opening, not of closure.”

― Tim Ingold, Being Alive: Essays on Movement, Knowledge and Description, 2011―

photo Cora Jongsma / barranco de cajar, Sierra María Los Vélez

‘The dikes I encountered in the gulch near my temporary dwelling place, Joya Air, have fallen into disrepair. They should hold water that brings life, but because they have fallen into disrepair they can no longer do so. In a clumsy attempt I tried to repair the dikes, but of course, this was an impossible task…’

photo Cora Jongsma

Cora Jongsma

Cora Jongsma / fragment of wool and clay

‘The fragments of the dikes have become a reminder of what was so dear to me, a life that has been lost. The dikes are a reminder of what they once did; the retention of water which is the source of life. The essence of life, however, is that it flows, slips through your fingers and evaporates in the heat’.

Cora Jongsma / firing fragments of clay

Cora Jongsma / fired earth

‘Within my artistic research process, I always try to find parallels between making felt and land cultivation. Inspired by the traces in the surface of land, cultivation and the entanglement of humans and soil, I keep my artistic work going. Now, during this residency in the mountains of Andalusia, I made the loss of my dear husband visible and tangible in my artistic work’.

Cora Jongsma

Cora Jongsma

Cora Jongsma

Cora Jongsma is currently working as lecturer-researcher Arts & Sustainability at the Hanze University of applied sciences in Groningen.

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Ana Garcia Alcocer / MEX

‘I embarked my self for a four week journey at Joya: AiR.

It was in my bucket list , to be part of an Artist residency somewhere in the world since I was starting as a young Artist many years ago.

This is my first time in one.

My experience in Joya was about reconnecting with my creative self again, without judgment and letting my whole spirit feel free and flow.

Every morning after having my hot lemon tea I walked throughout the woods, paths , mountains and barrancos connecting with earth it self. Felt like magic.

My mind and soul were overwhelmed by the beauty of it’s imense landscapes , the silence , the sound of the wind and sheep passing at times.

It was thanks to Donna and Simon and their big generosity, kindness and gourmet dinners that I felt at home very quickly and be able to deal with my personal challenges at this time.

I was able then to inmerse my self in my studio after collecting some rocks and branches. Inspired by the power of nature.

The sense of Time seemed so different here. I had it all for myself,being able to process and explore what I needed for my practice and be able to create. And I did!

Taking this time for my self to make art was very rewarding.

I thought a lot about my pourpouse and intenton in life.

Everything came to me in a very natural way, ideas and projects I started to be continued back home.

I completely lost the sense of time.

I had the privilege to share this experience with unique and amazing fellow artists , learned an appreciated their work and thoughts. We had some great conversations and laughs over dinner. And a couple of earthquakes as well!

Joya was an experience beyond my expectations . Joya is a real and unique “Joya” ( jewel in spanish) I feel it trasformed many things under my skin in different levels.

I just hope the energy and peace that I have received from this experience will stay within me for long time.

I will miss everyone including Frida the giant and beautiful schnauzer and Fufu the goat 🐐who also enjoys taking long walks and eats lots of carrots as I do!

Gracias Simon y Donna because your love for art and life have made all of this possible.

Gracias, gracias Joya-Air por tanto 🤍!

Ana Garcia Alcocer

Nacida en Ciudad de México
Licenciada en Arquitectura Universidad Anahuac, Ciudad de México
Estudios de Arte en la Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze Italia y Brera Milano
Estudio de Técnicas pictóricas School of Visual Arts NYC US

Beca para jóvenes creadores del FONCA en CDMX

Exposiciones individuales y colectivas en México, Nueva York, Holanda .

Colecciones del Museo Cuevas, CDMX
Collection Televisa CDMX

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Connie Morey / CAN

‘My studio practice explores the themes industry, labour, and ecological displacement (what it means to be separate from the earth as home) through performance with sculpture and textiles documented through photography and stop-motion video. While at JOYA AiR, I worked on the Canada Council funded project The Mending Ground, which began in the clear cuts and old growth forests of Vancouver Island, Canada on unceded Indigenous land (Pacheedaht and Malahat Territories). The Mending Ground explores how colonial approaches to the earth as a commodity resource rather than kin result in ecological displacement and environmental loss. It explores how pioneer species (moss and lichen) and carbon rich soils provide models for relational integrity and paths to ecological restoration.

I initially applied to JOYA AiR because of the inspiring work being done by Simon and Donna to replenish the soil and ecosystems on site through considered development of water catchment systems and the planting of thousands of diverse local species. I was fascinated by the agricultural history of the area and while on residence, I spent time in the barranco, and at the old well, observing nature, almond trees and being awestruck by the kaolin and limestone rich soil.

Time in the studio, sharing and connecting with other artists, and learning about the history and restorative initiatives happening at JOYA AiR had a profound impact on my work as an artist. The building, studio, natural environment, Donna and Simon’s amazing cooking, and dinner time conversations provided nourishment on many levels that allowed me to take creative risks that will continue to feed my studio work for years to come’.

Connie Morey

Connie Michele Morey's studio practice explores the experience of home as ecological interdependence. Through site-specific performance, and participatory sculptures documented through photography and video, her work questions the relationships between ecology, displacement and belonging. Connie's studio practice is influenced by childhood experiences living rurally off the land, while being surrounded by family traditions of masonry, construction and textiles. Her family history co-mingles settler and Indigenous identities (Scottish, Swedish & Anishinaabe), and her studies in sculpture, ecology, philosophy, post-colonial studies and art education, have impacted her interest in displacement and the politics of marginalization. She holds a BFA in Visual Arts from the University of Lethbridge, an M.Ed. in Art Education and a Studio-Based PhD from the University of Victoria. She currently lives as an uninvited guest on the unceded territories of the Xwepsum (Esquimalt) and Lkwungen (Songhees) Peoples where she also teaches Sculpture, Drawing, Community Art and Cultural Studies at the University of Victoria, Vancouver Island University and Camosun College.

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Tammy Flynn Seybold / CAN

I found my time spent at Joya: AiR was marked by tranquility coupled with creative and intellectual awakening.   The spare but gorgeous environs - the cascading terraces, the wide open blue sky, the minimalist building itself - all contributed to an environment that was at once contemplative and invigorating.

Considering myself a mid-life emergent artist, I had wondered if I would feel at home at a residency with other mostly younger, very impressive artists.  I needn’t be concerned.  I made close artistic and personal connections with the other artists at Joya: AiR that I hope will last a very long time.  The diverse oeuvres of the accomplished residents:  everything from poetry, weaving and photography, to film and sound capture, provided endless inspiration and surprising areas of intersection.

While at Joya: AiR, my daily routine began with a grounding yoga and meditation session.  Having forgot my yoga mat, I chose to use a large piece of raw canvas for my practice instead.  I selected a new location each morning, always about 250 m from the JOYA residence, but moving clockwise about 30 degrees each day to total of 12 locations.  This practice allowed me to experience the land and its changing use and form in the quiet and introspective way that it deserved.

It was from this more contemplative place that I was able to draw unexpected connections between my 12-part experiential circle to the work of British Economist Kate Haworth who developed the concept of a Doughnut Economy - one in which the success of a society is judged not by an ever-rising GDP, but by a society’s ability to provide the 12 essentials of life (Health, Food, Water, Housing etc) while keeping in mind the ecological ceiling - the limits to which these can be provided to all without causing undo harm to the planet.   

Wanting to draw parallels to my 12-day meditation on the surrounding land of JOYA,  I used the same piece of raw canvas I used as a yoga mat to create a paint and thread-based piece, including the geographic coordinates of each meditation, and the shape of the rough diagram of the Doughnut Economics model.  Without time, space and quiet to pursue this 12-day physical and artistic journey, I don’t think I would have seen the parallels to these economic or sustainability ideals.

Additionally, the time away from both the proverbial and very real noise of everyday life allowed me to pursue my previous series of works in a new and inspiring environment.  The time in my large and wonderfully minimalist studio was conducive to small- and large-scale painting, and the comfortable bedroom and common areas were a perfect place for me to work on the embroidery elements of my pieces.

Evenings were spent sharing a bit of wine and catching up with the other artists, providing warmth for the soul and creative spirit.  After that we would enjoy a delicious communal meal made with care by Donna.

Coming to JOYA was an experience of a lifetime for me.  Especially after the isolation of Covid years, I was so grateful to be somewhere to share ideas, experiences and laughter with other artists.  I will carry away with me a profound respect for this once-abandoned land, and for those who inhabit it - whether for 2 weeks, a month or for life.  Thank you Simon and Donna for this very special, productive and memorable time.

The final slide of my presentation:

Lessons from my time here at Joya: Art + Ecología:

Trust both instinct and the intellect when trying to recapture creative energy and flow

Hold a place for routine and comfort ( i.e. time sketching, yoga etc.)  can lead to unexpected connections down the road - It grounds the body and quiets the mind enough to hear the creative signals and connections, including those from others.

The more grounded foundations you create through routine and meditation/hiking/yoga creates a solid foundation from which you can stretch and take risks

Trust the process

Even greater sense of gratitude

Tammy Flynn Sybold

M.A.C. 1990 Master of Art Conservation, Paintings Specialization
Queen’s University Art Conservation Program, Kingston, Canada.

B.A. 1988 Bachelor of Arts, History of Art, University of California at Berkeley.

CONSERVATION EXPERIENCE

1990 - 2018 Conservator of Paintings
Tammy has had a 28-year career as a paintings conservator, with a specialty in 20th Century and Contemporary Art. She has worked at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, the Art Gallery of Ontario, The Power Plant in Toronto and the Vancouver Art Gallery.

HONOURS Dean’s List, University of California at Berkeley
Dean’s Award Recipient, Queen’s University 1988 and 1989
Samuel H. Kress Fellowship Recipient, Faelleskonserveringen, Denmark, 1990.
Getty Grant Recipient, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1990.
Samuel H. Kress Fellowship Recipient, SFMOMA, 1991
Samuel H. Kress Fellowship Recipient, SFMOMA 1992.

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Iana Mizguina / UK

It was a two-year-long wait for me to get to Joya: AiR after Covid travel restrictions. I had never been to Spain before, and I got first impressions of the fantastic landscape of the region on the journey from Granada to Velez Rubio. It was magical to catch the beautiful scenes of the Parque Nacional Sierra Nevada and its monumental mountains and hills during a 2.5-hour journey on the bus. A group of us were picked up from the town of Velez Rubio, and during the drive to the Cortijada Los Gázquez, I started noticing how remote the residency location was going to be.  And I couldn’t wait to begin my two-week adventure.

It took me few days to fully comprehend how quiet the environment was. It must have been the most tranquil place I have ever been to. From day one, other artists and I started going for exploratory walks. These unique shared experiences were so crucial to developing my work at Joya that I couldn’t recommend them more.

Every day I took the absolute pleasure of working in a studio which was allocated to me. This spacious studio allowed me to make separate spaces for darkroom printing and a desk for working with digital files. I absolutely have to mention how much I enjoyed experiencing terrific views and saying hello to a goat, FouFou, every day on my way to the studio. The tranquillity of nature and lack of distraction allowed me to get 100% immersed in my work.

I came to Joya: AiR with somewhat a plan to develop work from a proposal I applied with a couple of years prior. However, I also decided to give myself the freedom to make work in response to the beautiful environment of Parque Natural Sierra María-Los Vélez. Therefore, I started to take field notes from every walk. Most of the time, I would walk with my camera. However if I did walk without the camera I would observe and absorb the details of the landscape.

Iana Mizguina

Iana Mizguina

Iana Mizguina

Iana Mizguina

Iana Mizguina

Iana Mizguina

Coming to Joya: AiR, one of my definite aims was to find a way to make work more sustainable and reduce the waste. I ended up working with a mint tea developer and fixed my prints in salt. I also used Caffenol to develop my B&W negatives. Being a messy alternative process enthusiast who doesn’t mind when things are inconsistent, I have thoroughly enjoyed letting go and introducing an element of chance to my photographic practice. It was even somewhat of a disappointment towards the end of my two-week residency, when I started achieving consistency with my printing.

Iana Mizguina

Iana Mizguina

Iana Mizguina

Joya: AiR became a vital place to contemplate who I am as an artist and where my work is taking me. It was an excellent way to get a break from everyday commitments and immerse myself in reading and making. The experience made me think about my ambitions and gave me more courage. It was particularly inspiring to share work with other residents as we all came from different backgrounds, experiences, and media. Every night we would have a fantastic meal cooked by Donna, share a glass of wine, and talk about our work, lives and, most importantly, our daily experiences.

Huge thanks to Simon and Donna for being superb hosts and sharing the incredibly inspiring lifestyle at the Cortijada Los Gázquez with us’.

Iana Mizguina

Originally from Helsinki Finland, Iana studied Chemistry/Biochemistry in University of Turku for a few years before finally following a dream of studying art.
She has lived in UK from 2014 and graduated from BA Photography course in University for Creative Arts Farnham and graduated from MA Photography Arts University of Westminster. Apart from finishing her MA course she works/volunteers part-time in museums (V&A and Rural Life Centre) and is also a self-employed artist with a small studio in Farnham.
Recently she has been part of few group exhibitions outside university, including CLUSTER Photography&Print Fair in February in London, and also participated in collaborative project as part of Lishui Photo Festival in China in November 2017. In August 2019 she participated in Dartmoor Summer School of Photography week long residency.

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Zoe McIntosh / CYM

‘Stunned by white noise, bristly flora and hidden movements of fauna, a fortnight at Joya Air kicked off an entirely new focus to my ecological investigations - petrology.

Settling into the remote landscape was at first daunting, although living remotely in wales, the sound of a nearby waterfall fills the magical silent void that exists in Sierra Maria - Los Velez. 

I discovered a lot about my writing practice, garnering inspiration from the beautiful array of international artists, from the diversity of landscapes, deep down in the ravine formed by the gota fria and high up in the hills to which you can get 360 degrees view of the entirety of the natural park.

Path-Way is a short poetry anthology studying the geological formations that shape the surrounding landscape - from caves, to ravines, high mountains and fire breaks - composing poetry in response to my bodily interaction to the environment that surrounds me, using binaural sound recordings to investigate subtlety of movement’. 

Zoe McIntosh

After travelling Australia in a camper-van when she was eighteen years old, Zoe decided to move away from her home in the Wye Valley and study a foundation in Marketing Communications in Edinburgh. In 2020, she began a Bachelors at London College of Communication, UAL and she is currently in embarking on a Diploma in Professional Studies, a year out of her studies to home in on and realise her artistic practice. In September-October she was travelling to Italy to learn about and partake in permaculture, agritourism, medicinal herbs and farm management in response to climate change.

She manages the Humble Soup instagram page, creating content and has since onboarded 5 people to help in the growth of this. They are soon to host their second event at double the number of guests at the first one and are currently collaborating with artists on a new project 'Kitchen Draw' giving them the space to talk about their artistic practice, love for soup and power of the words.