The Art & Authenticity Photography Retreat

Tuscany, 17 - 24 May, 2025

Early Bird Discount for Applications submitted by 17 December 2024

More information: art-authenticity-photography-retreat

The Art & Authenticity Photography Retreat is a one-week full-immersion workshop for female photographers held each spring in the heart of Tuscany and designed to clarify and strengthen your practice.

Set in a remote hamlet of Chiusdino, Tuscany, The Art & Authenticity Photography Retreat is for female photographers interested in intensifying their practice in a focused, regenerative setting — in an idyllic location, close to nature, free from urban noise and shared with a small community of fellow photographers.

The Art & Authenticity Photography Retreat will be held May 17-24, 2025.

The Retreat mentors look forward to drawing on 20+ years of knowledge, trials, victories, and lessons learned to help you crystallize your expression, sharpen your visual language and lift your project to the next level.

THE RETREAT

Authenticity is the degree to which an individual's actions are congruent with their beliefs and desires, despite external pressures. The Art & Authenticity Photography Retreat is designed to help participants recalibrate their practice in alignment with this idea — help them attune their work with their artistic integrity, develop their artistic core, and lay a solid foundation on which to build forward.

Through a week’s worth of analyses, exercises, photography assignments, reflection and shared inspiration, The Art & Authenticity Photography Retreat aims to help you achieve a greater level of authenticity in your work while at the same time achieving greater maturity in your projects. The Retreat is a chance to understand how photography serves you and to venture new approaches that may strengthen your practice. It is also a chance to take a break from everyday responsibilities and embark on a personal journey — A week just for you.

The Art & Authenticity Photography Retreat is a ‘photograph and reflect' workshop. It is neither a technical course nor a portfolio review. It is a unique combination of analysing your existing work or project, engaging through assignments, and reflecting in a constructive, empowering way - reflecting on your strengths, possible improvements, and future goals.

Because it is a communal experience, The Art & Authenticity Photography Retreat builds on mutual support, shared analyses and the intelligence of the group.

Ultimately, The Art & Authenticity Photography Retreat is about strengthening your resilience — as a photographer, as a person, as a woman — so that you may make convincing work that is aligned with your values and immune to external pressure.

Who Is It For?

The Art & Authenticity Photography Retreat is designed for both aspiring and advanced female photographers, professionals or semi-professionals, photography students or self-taught photographers in any genre (fine art, documentary, conceptual, landscape) who wish to deepen their practice.

Community Spirit

During one week, participants and instructors live and work together in a remote location in Chiusdino, Italy. Sharing instruction and feedback sessions, exercises, meals and walks, participants benefit from lively discussions and support, creating opportunities for valuable exchange and friendships. At the same time, each participant has enough opportunity to work alone and focus on their individual process.

Small Groups

The Art & Authenticity Photography Retreat accepts a maximum of 8-10 applications. This allows for a focused setting in which each participant gets due support, while having enough time for valuable exchange. We find this to be an ideal context to recharge and recalibrate.

One of a Kind Location

We have looked long and hard for a perfect location that can offer enough peace and tranquility for a productive week, inspire us with its character, and is surrounded by stunning scenery. We have found all that and more at Villa Tirisondola. More about the location:

Chiusdino is a daydream: a picture-perfect hamlet amid rolling Tuscan hills. Founded in the 12th century, Chiusdino prides itself in an exceptionally preserved medieval town center, most of which is still inhabited. Surrounding it – cyprus trees and olive groves. For those interested in landscape photography, the setting itself is an inspiration. Easily reachable by public transportation are Siena (30 km away), Florence (70km away), and Abbazia San Galgano (7km away), a stunning ruin of a 13th century abbey. A stone-sculpture park by a local artist and nearby nature parks are reachable by bus.

During the workshop week, The Art & Authenticity Photography Retreat participants live at a one-of-a-kind rustic villa located at a 15-min walk from the Chiusdino town center. Tirisondola, as the villa is called, is run by Thomas, an American archeologist who purchased it in 1983 and transformed it from a ruin to a beautiful vacation home. The property includes 4 apartments, a natural swimming pond, pergolas, terraces, working areas, and a workshop hall. Adorning the property are memorabilia and artefacts acquired by Thomas during a lifetime of travels.

For this one week, participants leave the urban bustle and replace it with old-fashioned simplicity: we slow down, eat fresh produce from the local area and enjoy simple accommodations in a no-frills setting. Meals are cooked and enjoyed as best fits participants’ preference – each apartment is equipped with a kitchen and participants choose whether to cook and eat together or privately.

THE MENTORS

Eva Gjaltema is a Dutch visual artist based in Berlin. Through her work, Eva engages with various contemporary topics, mainly focusing on the themes of identity, relationships and memory. Analog collage and mixed media are an integral part of her practice. Eva holds a Master's degree in Cultural Studies from the University of Amsterdam (2004) and a Bachelor's degree in Photography Design from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague (2008). In 2018, she self-published her first photobook ‘The First Three Years’ around the theme of motherhood. She has received awards and nominations by institutions such as the Dutch Doc Award, Hariban Award, Critical Mass Top 50 and Julia Margaret Cameron Award. Her work has been exhibited internationally and included in collections such as the Fries Museum, Art Gazette, Business Art Service and various private collections. Eva has been teaching photography since 2009 at a.o. C/O Berlin Photography Museum and CREA Amsterdam, and is currently pursuing an intensive training to become an art therapist. Since 2012, Eva lives and works in Berlin with her husband and two children.

More information:
www.evagjaltema.org
dergreif.org
kwerfeldein.de

"For the past 15 years, I have been facilitating workshops, courses, and portfolio readings for photographers and artists from varying backgrounds. I feel incredibly grateful when participants open up their secret worlds, filled with unfinished ideas, impulses, and desires. As an art therapist, I hope to accompany many individuals on their journey toward becoming more in tune with themselves, trusting their inner process with self-confidence." - Eva Gjaltema

Mirjana Vrbaški is a Serbian/Canadian lens-based artist. In Mirjana’s practice, the photograph is a vehicle to gaining self-knowledge and a better understanding of lived experience. Mirjana's ongoing series Verses of Emptiness received international recognition, including prizes and nominations from The National Portrait Gallery (UK), Renaissance Portrait Prize (UK), Rabo Photographic Portrait Prize (NL) and LensCulture Portrait Award. Since then, she has expanded her practice to include landscape and conceptual photography as well as different media such as video and installation. She is interested in the photograph as an environment for empathy and resonance. Her portrait and landscape work has been brought together in a deeply personal monograph Odd Time, published in 2021 by Kerber Verlag. Mirjana has actively taught photography at institutions such as the KHB Academy of Art and C/O Berlin Photography Museum, as well as in portrait workshops at her Berlin studio. She exhibits internationally and is represented in private and public collections, including The National Portrait Gallery, Fries Museum, Transformer Station Cleveland and others. Mirjana lives in Berlin with her husband and son.

More information:
www.mirjanavrbaski.com
cphmag.com
www.new-east-archive.org

"Working with creative minds is one of the most inspiring aspects of my practice. The thrill of witnessing authentic ideas be born is tremendous. But seeing and helping those ideas get focused, tightened and professionalized into mature endeavours is the real reward, both for the students and for myself." - Mirjana Vrbaški

THE FEE

The Art & Authenticity Photography Retreat guarantees each participant an intensive review of their work/project and a constructive action plan moving forward.

The mentors custom-tailor each retreat based on the retreat participants and their specific needs and interests, and in response to individual objectives expressed during application.

Participant presentations, reflection session, work reviews and feedback sessions, photography assignments, exercises and one-on-one mentoring sessions are carefully curated to help each participant reach their goals.

The retreat fee for accepted participants is €1,200 incl. VAT

Applications submitted by December 17, 2024 receive an Early Bird Discount: €1,080 incl. VAT

Included in the retreat fee:

* Intensive one-week course
* 7-day accommodation at Villa Tirisondola
* Welcome dinner on Sat, May 10 and celebration dinner on Fri, May 16
* Wine-tasting on the premises

Not included in the retreat fee:

* Airfare
* Travel to Villa Tirisondola
* Meals other than listed above

HOW TO APPLY

Applications are free of charge and will be accepted on a rolling basis. Once the course has been filled, remaining applicants will be placed on a waiting list. We have kept the application process straightforward and uncomplicated.

To apply, submit the following e-mail:

* A brief description of your motivation (max 250 words), explaining why you would like to join the retreat and the objectives you would like to work on (you may attach the motivation or write it in your email)

* Project and/or Portfolio: Please submit a PDF with either your portfolio (max 25 images) or a project you would like to work on (max 25 images). You may also submit both in two separate PDFs, max 25 images each

* Contact Information: Please submit your email, telephone and address

Submit your application per e-mail to info@mirjanavrbaski.com
Confirmation of receipt will be send to you within 48 hours.

Please also contact us if you have any questions.

More information: art-authenticity-photography-retreat