Alpujarra Artist Residency
The Alpujarra Art Residency provides an environment where artists can focus on creating, experimenting, and growing. A retreat away from your familiar surroundings, where you can gain fresh perspectives and enjoy uninterrupted creative time. A better suited location than the Alpujarra is hardly imaginable, with its lovely white villages, the peace and quiet of rural surroundings, the stunning mountains and valleys and the spectacular views over the Mediterranean.
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Our Accomodations
There are two rooms available in Casa 3 where artists will stay for the duration of their residency. Both rooms have their own bathroom, toilet, airconditioning and an outdoor space. There is a shared kitchen, a washing machine and fibre internet. There is free parking 50 meters from Casa 3. Accomodation is not free, but we keep our prices at a minimum to make a residency available for everyone.
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Art facilities
We have two studio spaces available. These are funded by the Diputacion de Granada and the Mancomunidad de Municipios de la Costa Tropical. Both studio’s are airconditioned and each has its own bathroom and toilet. There is a small shared kitchen with a microwave, a coffee machine, a cooker and a fridge. The studio’s are located on the other side of town, 300 meters from Casa 3.
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Location
Polopos is located at 800 meters above sea level overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. There is a restaurant and a bar, a fishmonger and a greengrocer come to the village weekly and a baker daily. The beach is a 15 minute drive and the nearest coastal town with supermarkets, restaurants, pharmacy and other at 20 minutes. Granada and Almería are an hours drive and Málaga an hour and a half.
FAQ
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What does an Artist Residency cost?
An Artist Residency with us at Casa 3 in the Alpujarra costs 300 euro per two weeks. It is possible to bring a partner for 100 euro extra. Artists will have to pay their own travel expenses, food and drinks and the materials they work with. Further costs to consider are are travel insurance, car hire, excursions, etc.
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What is included in the price?
Each artist will have their own studio to live in, with private bathroom, toilet, an outdoor space and their own private art studio. The kitchen is shared between the two artists staying with us and their possible partners. There is fiber internet, heating and airconditioning, towels, covers and sheets and a washer and a dryer.
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Is there funding available?
As an art association, we are happy to assist in applying for personal grants for the artist. In principle, the initiative to apply for this support lies with the artist. For projects that benefit the village, such as works of art with a permanent character realised in public spaces, we apply for grants from the province of Granada, our municipality and the Mancomunidad of the Costa Tropical. Only artists specifically selected for this purpose are eligible for these grants.
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How do I get to the Artist Residence?
We are an hour and a half drive from Málaga airport and one hour from Almería or Granada. The residence is located in Polopos, a village at 800 meter above sea level overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. We advise our artists to bring their own car or rent one.
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What kind of services will I find in Polopos?
The village itself has a bar and a restaurant. A baker comes to the village 6 days a week, a fish monger comes on Tuesday and Friday and every Saturday a big van with fruit and vegetables drives up. The nearest supermarket is 15 minutes away at the bottom of the mountain, the nearest beach is also 15 minutes and the nearest town with a commercial center, a doctor and other fascilities is 20 minutes.
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Do I need to be able to speak Spanish?
It is definitely a plus if you do, but it is not a necessity. Most of the Spanish population don’t speak other languages so it is easier to get in touch with them if you speak some Spanish. The restaurant in the village is owned by two Dutch couples who speak several languages.
Stories
Trailer for Thysa’s first children’s book
About us
Casa 3 Polopos, the Alpujarra Artist Residency and the Art Association Polopos are founded by Thysa and Wijnand Boon. We moved to Spain in 2019 after traveling around Europe in a van for two years, recording cooking video’s writing and making art. We live in Polopos with our gentle giant Mastín Español: Leia.
Thysa has published four children’s books. You can find out more about her and her art here. Wijnand is a writer and multimedia artist. You can find out more about him here. Together we organize art exhibitions, music festivals, give cooking workshops and run the residence, the art association and Casa 3.
Boxie is the fourth artist in residence that we welcomed in Polopos. We first met Boxie and his girlfriend Pascale when they booked a stay with us in Casa 3 about two years ago, not as artists but as tourists.