photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Bethany Jones / MA Fine Art / Manchester School of Art Postgraduate Residency

‘Visiting Joya: AiR has been a wonderful experience, it’s given me the chance to realise perspective and importance within my painting and drawing practices but also my day to day life.

It’s given me the spring in my step to tackle the next phase of work and it feels great to be excited to get back to the studio, even if the weather won’t be coming with me!

A big thank you to our hosts Donna and Simon for being so wonderful and creating such a welcoming creative space’.

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Anne Rowland / MA Painting / Manchester School of Art Postgraduate Residency

‘I was amazed by the colours of the landscape on the journey between Murcia Airport and Joya: AiR - the pink of the stone and the incredible light really stood out. We were in for a fabulous week.

I’ve focused on the landscape, different views in every direction, my paintings becoming more abstract as the week went on. Sunrise, terraced landscape, zoomed-in cropped buildings, even the colours of the concrete mixer and adjacent tarpaulin - there’s so much here to inspire. The long days in this serene environment give lots of time for painting, walking, contemplating, collaborating and cameraderie. I’ve made lots of work, one painting leading onto another idea, and have a full sketchbook which will provide inspiration for lots of future work. I’ve tried unexpected new things including cynotype, whittling and meditation! Donna and Simon are wonderful hosts’.

www.annerowland.co.uk

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Ruth Morrissey / MA Painting / Manchester School of Art Postgraduate Residency

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Isobel Panatti-Reeve / MA Painting / Manchester School of Art Postgraduate Residency

‘I came to Joya: AiR with no plan of what I wanted to create, other than to expand my artistic practice by experimenting in a landscape completely new to me.

With walking being a huge part of my existing practice, I spent much of my time exploring the rugged landscape close to the house, making close friends with a cat named Nippy and immersing myself in a living environment I had never experienced before.

After an early morning walk to the top of one of the surrounding mountains, I became inspired to cyanotype print onto rocks, roofing tiles, wood and stray bits of pottery around the hills. My main practice involves a lot of analogue photography experimentation, and delving back into cyanotypes was a refreshing experience especially on new surfaces. 

After realising I couldn't bring the larger pieces back with me I decided to put them back into the landscape, in the dried out river beds and rock falls surrounding me, giving my work back to the landscape I had taken it from.

My time at Joya: AiR has been refreshing, invigorating and eye opening, it is certainly a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience both a different type of living and a different way of creating’.

Isobel Panatti-Reeve

@izzypanarty - instagram

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Christelle Momini / MA Painting / Manchester School of Art Postgraduate Residency

Project title: The fine Art Language.

How Painting can connect to Science Ecologically to resolve a problem related to our health and well-being to found balance without taking discomfort on climate change and environmental impact.

Summary

Christelle is an Abstract-Expressionism Painter.

She is inspired by human nature, art and science to produce a series of paintings.

Actually, her project is considered to a neurologist paintinger, inspired by the neuro-scientists and the natural psychology colours over the Decades.

This project will focus on the interpretation cultural objects in painting with the method of observational and environmental using novel experimental platform like the Landforms, the climate, the Air, the Natural vegetation like flowers and trees around the mountains, collecting stone from different colours to build the colours pallet base on the environmental and event related-potentials to explore how interpersonal variability can affected people mental health and improve the brains fonction due to the climate change and how it’s may affect socio-cognitive process underlying and individual’s behaviour in a social environment context, in addition to effect on learning outcomes, lifestyle and decision making.

She observed the landscape, inspired by the landforms, shape , line, natural colour inspired by the ecological and environmental colours to produce the Neurological Painting based on the 10 previous decades until today.

Website: www.momini.org

Christelle Momini

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Susan Calverley Parker / MA Painting / Manchester School of Art Postgraduate Residency

‘ The residency at Joya_AiR in Spain offered me a wonderful opportunity to make some expanded paintings surrounded by nature. Simon and Donna have created a peaceful, contemplative environment for any creative

person to develop their art.

I was particularly keen to study the landscape, light and colours so very different from my Yorkshire Dale. There are land management issues to address here, as in Yorkshire, so my existing artistic practice could continue but with a different focus.

On our first day at Joya Simon explained the complex water management and regeneration of native species that is part of the ethos here. After centuries of cultivation the area is now becoming abandoned so needs care and thoughtful use.

For my work I turned to collecting water, dried vegetation and dusty rocks from which I made paint and inks. Iam a process led artist so was then inspired to start developing some images which, Ihope, will reflect the delicate balance and beauty surrounding us.

One week is not enough!’

Susan Calverley Parker

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Gregory Howard / MA Painting / Manchester School of Art Postgraduate Residency

‘I came to Joya: AiR with a specific idea of what I wanted to achieve but after becoming immersed in the landscape, observing the changing conditions of light and experiencing the vastness of space from high in the hills, my plans found another track.

I found myself trying to translate this experience into abstract mark making, aiming to create a vocabulary of painted marks that captured what I observed.

The week at Joya created a desire to develop my understanding of light and space- two things fundamental to its landscape and to painting- and has provided a new stimulus to take back to the studio in Manchester.’

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Ian Norris / MA Painting / Manchester School of Art Postgraduate Residency

‘The beautiful and peaceful surroundings at Joya: AiR provided the backdrop for me to fully emerse myself in my practice without any of the usual distractions of everyday life.

The week started with an informative talk by Simon. He explained the history of the centre and the challenging work both he and Donna are doing in order to restore the former farmhouse and surrounding farmland,in particular, the complex water management and agricultural systems.

The talk provided the stimulus for new ideas and the work I made was surprisingly unexpected. The overall experience has helped move my practice in new directions.

Simon and Donna are wonderful hosts and very helpful, nothing was too much trouble. Thank you for a wonderful stay!

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Kevin Boardman / Master of Research Art / Manchester School of Art Postgraduate Residency

Before my arrival I have engaged in a 1 year long artistic project which concerns the flow of idea exploration and active participation in relation to chalkboards and whiteboards.

It considers how reusable mark-making surfaces might be reclaimed and repurposed as spaces for radical thought and action, in contrast to their former conventional use in business and educational institutions. The research is situated within the field of contemporary art, intersecting with design and arts pedagogy. Art-thinking and making methods and new speculation combine to form alternative pathways in collective and individual thinking. The study aims to reinvent reusable media in new formats and spaces, by experimenting with sculpture, installation, performative workshops, and drawing.

My time at Joya was an opportunity to expand this practice, I took one of my reusable objects (the chalkboard ball) into this new environment. By working under a new environment, collaborating with new artists and having the time to reflect in this inspiring place. I was able to create a new body work which focus on ideation and drawing.

Instagram: @boardmankevin

www.kevinboardman.com

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Nicola Breach / Fine Art MFA / Manchester School of Art Postgraduate Residency

‘The Joya: AiR residency has been a delight allowing space and time to develop my practice in surprising new ways. I quickly settled into this peaceful and unique environment, developing a personal connection to the land and in turn nourishing my art practice. I explored the area with a series of walking, meditation and drawing exercises. Climbing high in the cool morning air to get a sense of the unique natural park geography. I made charcoal and paint from pigments collected from the land and then further developed art pieces back in one of the spacious studios.

The week at Joya: AiR has been a one of a kind creative and learning opportunity. Hosted by Simon and Donna who have opened my eyes to a way of life that is off-grid and sustainable in the Sierra Maria-Los Vélez Natural Park.

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Anna Stevens / Fine Art MA / Manchester School of Art Postgraduate Residency

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Michelle Landel / USA

‘I came to Joya: AiR  at the end of January and basically spent a week carrying around and photographing a life-size paper mache bird head that I had stuffed into my suitcase and an old watering can that I found blown into the woods. This sounds a bit mad but sometimes as an artist you need the time and space to follow the weird to find a new and a more interesting place. Being at Joya allowed me to slow down and go deeper into my creative practice and ideas. I read, sketched, journaled, and took long walks in this magical landscape. I had great conversations around the fireplace and dinner table with wonderfully talented artists, especially our hosts Donna and Simon, that I will be thinking about for years.

At Joya, I had my own quiet bedroom, bathroom, and private studio. I woke up rested and without an alarm to watch the sunrise each morning, made myself breakfast and chatted with the other early risers, and got to work. When I needed a break there were the mountains to explore, a friendly dog’s ear to be scratched, delicious food to be eaten, and cozy corners for reading.

I know already that the photographs I took of the watering can will be the basis for a September solo exhibition at Le Salon Vert gallery in Geneva, Switzerland and by wandering and playing outside, my paper mache bird head became a scarecrow who is both a woman and a bird that scares and intimidates predators while protecting what is growing and is vulnerable and needs nurturing. This project may take me years to develop but my time at Joya will have been a crucial part in pushing it forward’.

Michele Landel

photo Simon Beckmann

Joya: AiR / Andrea Mindell Cohen / ESP

‘Upon my arrival to Joya-AiR I discovered another realm where I found solitude and was able to disconnect from my distractions with an abundance of time to focus on my practice. The return to Andalucía the land of mi madre where I spent a portion of my childhood, could have not been more of a sign I needed to complete the rest of my healing journey.

Pure alegria!

I connected with the land by observing, listening and just being present in the moment to the natural surroundings, its serenity made me feel peace and calmness that I was missing in my daily chaotic life in Barcelona.

Joya is an ideal place to get out of your head, center yourself like pushing a reset button. Working, strolling outdoors in the fresh cold air routinely, healed my body, soul and awoke sleepy ideas. I can´t forget to mention my cozy chimney-fire studio space with its spectacular sunset vistas beyond the mountains. Where I spent most of my days working happily.

I;

· observed a full moon-set at sunrise

· walked through the forest

· collected treasures

· built fires in my studio

· drank vino

· ate delicious dinners

· met amazing, talented artists

· felt the presence of madre earth

· worked with new mediums

· created new artwork.

Thank you, Donna and Simon for this incredible eco-sustainable residency, your passions and support of the imaginations and creations of many artists from around the planet. Most of all a hospitality beyond and above!!’

Andrea Mindell Cohen

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