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Tuesday, November 18, 2025
The Spanish Quarantine Island Residency Where Artists Disconnect—and Phones Are Banned
Colossal: Dubbed “purgatory for artists,” Quarantine is dedicated to finding freedom through constraint. The intensive residency program takes its name from its venue: an 18th-century lazaretto off the coast of Menorca, Spain.
4 comments:
Mothman
said...
I think this is particularly interesting with the new understanding of the word quarantine since 2020 when that became so, so relevant. My attention was caught by the mention of the no phones rule. It initially read to me as the current societal trend of phone detoxing. But I think the article describes it more as a way to give the participating artists more security in the privacy of Quarantine. I am by the mention at the end of the article that the article publisher will be going as well as all the included photos which makes me wonder if what happens on the island is truly a secret from all those that are not there or if it is just something that is known and understood throughout the industry and its just us plebeians who are kept mostly out of the loop.
Wow this is the dream. I would absolutely love to be sequestered to the Spanish countryside with nothing to focus on but my art. It reminds me so much of art camp. I went to Art Camp in middle school, where we were in the middle of the woods on two lakes in Northern Michigan. Phones were banned there as well. The combination of nature, top tear artistic learning, a shared cohort, and disconnection form the rest of world truly creates an experience that alters you. I do love how the program is different from art schools in their curriculum. However, I think that students need a combination of technique driven education as well as a place to truly experiment to become a well rounded artist. I do also find it so interesting that they call is purgatory. I tend to associate purgatory in a negative context so considering that they are using it as a catchline is so interesting.
This sounds like my dream. I am heavily addicted to my phone, and it takes away my ability to be "bored" and be creative. Not only does the detoxing part sound good for me, however. Being surrounded by artists for months - creative visionaries, people to bounce ideas off of, and others excited about working with their hands. - sounds like a life-changing experience. It's like being here, but without social media and my phone distracting me. I would LOVE to participate. It might make me go crazy, though. The idea of being without my #1 vice, the phone I picked up to check my notifications while I was reading this article, is scary. A detox would do me well, though. Especially as an artist, the disconecrt from the little box and the connection to a new group os people is when the best art is created. How do I sign up?
As technology becomes more and more ingrained in our life, I imagine that experiences like this will become more and more enticing and encouraged to escape from that aspect of the world as well as allow oneself to pursue something greater without the distraction of the outside world for most of the trip. It is admirable that the people who run such a program are always looking to push artists and others alike to better understand themselves through the work as opposed to it just being a getaway trip (although I’m sure the island still allows for this in many ways). Further, that the lack of record keeping encourages you to do whatever you feel is best without nearly as much consideration for how others will perceive it (also offering the chance to burn whatever you create at the end of the program), allowing more freedom in exploration and a greater opportunity for risk taking.
4 comments:
I think this is particularly interesting with the new understanding of the word quarantine since 2020 when that became so, so relevant. My attention was caught by the mention of the no phones rule. It initially read to me as the current societal trend of phone detoxing. But I think the article describes it more as a way to give the participating artists more security in the privacy of Quarantine. I am by the mention at the end of the article that the article publisher will be going as well as all the included photos which makes me wonder if what happens on the island is truly a secret from all those that are not there or if it is just something that is known and understood throughout the industry and its just us plebeians who are kept mostly out of the loop.
Wow this is the dream. I would absolutely love to be sequestered to the Spanish countryside with nothing to focus on but my art. It reminds me so much of art camp. I went to Art Camp in middle school, where we were in the middle of the woods on two lakes in Northern Michigan. Phones were banned there as well. The combination of nature, top tear artistic learning, a shared cohort, and disconnection form the rest of world truly creates an experience that alters you. I do love how the program is different from art schools in their curriculum. However, I think that students need a combination of technique driven education as well as a place to truly experiment to become a well rounded artist. I do also find it so interesting that they call is purgatory. I tend to associate purgatory in a negative context so considering that they are using it as a catchline is so interesting.
This sounds like my dream. I am heavily addicted to my phone, and it takes away my ability to be "bored" and be creative. Not only does the detoxing part sound good for me, however. Being surrounded by artists for months - creative visionaries, people to bounce ideas off of, and others excited about working with their hands. - sounds like a life-changing experience. It's like being here, but without social media and my phone distracting me. I would LOVE to participate. It might make me go crazy, though. The idea of being without my #1 vice, the phone I picked up to check my notifications while I was reading this article, is scary. A detox would do me well, though. Especially as an artist, the disconecrt from the little box and the connection to a new group os people is when the best art is created. How do I sign up?
As technology becomes more and more ingrained in our life, I imagine that experiences like this will become more and more enticing and encouraged to escape from that aspect of the world as well as allow oneself to pursue something greater without the distraction of the outside world for most of the trip. It is admirable that the people who run such a program are always looking to push artists and others alike to better understand themselves through the work as opposed to it just being a getaway trip (although I’m sure the island still allows for this in many ways). Further, that the lack of record keeping encourages you to do whatever you feel is best without nearly as much consideration for how others will perceive it (also offering the chance to burn whatever you create at the end of the program), allowing more freedom in exploration and a greater opportunity for risk taking.
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