How Does It Work?
La Casa de la Artistas is an artist's residency focused on empowering artists to travel and create while supplementing school systems with free education for youth. How productive would you be if you were able to gain a new perspective on daily life for a week, a month, three months? What would you learn about the world around you when presented with a new place, culture, language and way of life? What would you learn about yourself? These questions are our motivation for helping artists. Education for youth is also our focus. In order to participate you must be willing to teach a free workshop to youth or be a part of one of our ongoing projects. We don't expect our artists to become experienced certified teachers overnight and having never taught should not prevent you from applying. We are here to help you and have resources on sight and possibly even in your area where you can fulfill your youth education requirement. You can be placed in a leadership role where you are We ask for a minimum of ten hours of free education to be donated by our artists per week. This can be accomplished over a variety or ways. For example perhaps you may have a schedule during your residency in which you participate with a local school an hour or two per day. You can choose to give a free community workshop over the course of a day or a weekend. If you are a teacher or work closely with local teachers or churches in your community you can choose to give an after school class at your own school over the course of a semester.
How Much Does it Cost and Why Do I Have to Pay?
Simply put money without money nothing gets accomplished. While we would love to be able to pay all expenses and overhead as well as fly artists all over the world we are not at that point. Our fees are the minimum needed to keep us up and running and you will see that we are constantly still putting in extra hours to provide additional income to the residency as possible. Having worked, crowd-sourced and fund raised for all of our own personal travels we realize how much of a liberating experience finding the funding can be for artists as well. We encourage artists to believe in themselves and are here to help them achieve not only their artistic but also their financial goals. While we are constantly on a roll to find grants to help us to provide scholarships to artists those funds will be reserved for artists that are already actively working towards their goals. This will allow us to help a lot more artists.
Residency Fees are as follow:
St Thomas, US Virgin Islands: $550/wk
Prague, Czech Republic: $550/wk
Chiang Mai Thailand: $350/wk
San Miguelito, Nicaragua: $850/mo
Cape Three Points, Ghana $850/mo
Haiti: To Be Announced
Mauritania: To Be Announced
Each residency includes a private bedroom, western toilets and hot shower, and access to a communal work space and kitchen (unless otherwise specified)/ Wi-fi may or may not be included depending on location. Air-con is usually not an option. Ghana, Thailand and Nicaragua offer solar powered facilities. A vegetarian breakfast is also included five days per week.
Residency Fees are as follow:
St Thomas, US Virgin Islands: $550/wk
Prague, Czech Republic: $550/wk
Chiang Mai Thailand: $350/wk
San Miguelito, Nicaragua: $850/mo
Cape Three Points, Ghana $850/mo
Haiti: To Be Announced
Mauritania: To Be Announced
Each residency includes a private bedroom, western toilets and hot shower, and access to a communal work space and kitchen (unless otherwise specified)/ Wi-fi may or may not be included depending on location. Air-con is usually not an option. Ghana, Thailand and Nicaragua offer solar powered facilities. A vegetarian breakfast is also included five days per week.
I want to do this! Now What?
First fill out the application. You can never get your application in too early. This allows us to see what kind of work you do and if you and your work will be appropriate for the site and season that you are interested in. Next decide how long you want your residency to be. Would you like to stay for one week or three months ? It's up to you but remember you will be responsible for 10 hours of teaching per week. So if you stay for a month that's 40 hrs of teaching that must be completed on site or at home in your community. Once you know how long you are going to stay you can put together a budget. You will need to include your airfare in this budget and any spending money. If you want to visit nearby islands or countries you can contact us and we can give you an idea of additional fees.
If you decide to start a crowd-funding campaign we suggest Indiegogo.com . La Casa de la Artista is a fiscally sponsored project through Fractured Atlas which means that donations are tax-deductible. Write up a nice letter starting where you are going and what you plan to accomplish while there. Present it to your friends, family, church, job, etc and ask for sponsorship. You will probably be amazed at how many people are willing to help you.
If you decide to start a crowd-funding campaign we suggest Indiegogo.com . La Casa de la Artista is a fiscally sponsored project through Fractured Atlas which means that donations are tax-deductible. Write up a nice letter starting where you are going and what you plan to accomplish while there. Present it to your friends, family, church, job, etc and ask for sponsorship. You will probably be amazed at how many people are willing to help you.
I'm Not an Artist But I'd Like to Participate or Help
You might be more of an artist than you think you are so we still encourage you to apply. We have many supportive roles that are needed at schools as well. Please contact us with your ideas. We are here to help you find your path. We are always interested in those working in wellness that may be able to provide services to the artists or communities that we work with. We welcome donations. We are constantly in need of materials and supplies for our workshops. Gift cards usually work best since it allows us to purchase supplies as we need them. Monetary donations are tax-deductible and allow us to sponsor residency fees for that are actively working towards their funding but falling short. Priority is given to artists who are able to make the biggest time commitment.
Which Location is Best For Me?
This is a question that we are here to help you with. We are sure you have your idea of where you would like to travel but are here to give you the real life circumstances of your program and opportunities that are best for your craft in these areas. We try to avoid the inclement weather in all locations so each residency is available at peak times of the year.
St Thomas US Virgin Islands: We have a project in progress in this location and are working with the Rasta community and a local high school teacher to build a community garden. St Thomas is full of beautiful beaches rich culture and many near by islands to explore. Generally speaking the weather is hot and humid year round so we avoid opening the program during the summer months. If you end up in a residency on island expect temperatures of 80-85 degrees. St Thomas has public transportation and is easy to navigate through hitch-hiking which is a cultural norm and very safe. There are many festivals and each holiday is widely celebrated with steel pan drums and parades.
Chiang Mai Thailand: We have a project in progress in this location teaching English and arts to local hill tribe children. The weather in Thailand is generally very warm. Expect temperatures in the 80's. This city is a cultural mecca. There are many shops, restaurants, cooking schools and temples to explore. It is also the gateway to the Golden Triangle so the borders of Myanmar (Burma) and Laos are nearby. Public transportation is inexpensive and widely available in the form or buses, taxis and tuk-tuks.
Prague Czech Republic: We have a project in progress in Prague working with a local orphanage. Prague programs are usually available in summer or autumn. Weather is mild and pleasant in both and expect temperatures between 60 to 75 degrees.This city is considered one of the most beautiful in the world. It is very modern and has plenty of public transportation available. There is a great deal to explore in Prague from music to theater, many restaurants, art and nightlife. The Czech Republic has many neighboring countries that are easy yo explore as well such as Slovakia, Germany, Poland or Vienna.
San Miguelito, Nicaragua: In San Miguel we are working with local village children to provide English and any other skills that may benefit them. This is village living close to the border of Costa Rica. Expect warm temperatures and simple surroundings in the jungle. This trip has very limited space.
St Thomas US Virgin Islands: We have a project in progress in this location and are working with the Rasta community and a local high school teacher to build a community garden. St Thomas is full of beautiful beaches rich culture and many near by islands to explore. Generally speaking the weather is hot and humid year round so we avoid opening the program during the summer months. If you end up in a residency on island expect temperatures of 80-85 degrees. St Thomas has public transportation and is easy to navigate through hitch-hiking which is a cultural norm and very safe. There are many festivals and each holiday is widely celebrated with steel pan drums and parades.
Chiang Mai Thailand: We have a project in progress in this location teaching English and arts to local hill tribe children. The weather in Thailand is generally very warm. Expect temperatures in the 80's. This city is a cultural mecca. There are many shops, restaurants, cooking schools and temples to explore. It is also the gateway to the Golden Triangle so the borders of Myanmar (Burma) and Laos are nearby. Public transportation is inexpensive and widely available in the form or buses, taxis and tuk-tuks.
Prague Czech Republic: We have a project in progress in Prague working with a local orphanage. Prague programs are usually available in summer or autumn. Weather is mild and pleasant in both and expect temperatures between 60 to 75 degrees.This city is considered one of the most beautiful in the world. It is very modern and has plenty of public transportation available. There is a great deal to explore in Prague from music to theater, many restaurants, art and nightlife. The Czech Republic has many neighboring countries that are easy yo explore as well such as Slovakia, Germany, Poland or Vienna.
San Miguelito, Nicaragua: In San Miguel we are working with local village children to provide English and any other skills that may benefit them. This is village living close to the border of Costa Rica. Expect warm temperatures and simple surroundings in the jungle. This trip has very limited space.
la casa de la artista channel
We have created a series of videos highlighting all of our locations. Watch our channel to find documentaries, tips on fundraising, language and music videos, and information on issues in the regions of the world we work in.