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. 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.
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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 sessions, work reviews and feedback sessions, photography assignments, exercises and one-on-one mentoring sessions are carefully curated to help each participant reach their goals.
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The Week
Saturday, May 17
16:00 Arrive at Villa Tirisondola
18:00 Welcome Dinner
Sunday-Thursday
Work/project reviews and analyses
Authenticity exercises
Theme focusing
One-on-one mentoring sessions
Group critiques and discussions
Photography sessions
Participant presentations
Excursions to Siena and/or Abbazio San Galgano (optional)
Friday, May 23
Final Presentations
18:00 Closing Dinner
Saturday, May 24
10:00 Farewell and departure
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The Retreat Objectives:
Recharge and recalibrate your practice
Strengthen and fine-tune your artistic ingegrity
Achieve greater maturity in your projects
Define future goals
Improve and enrich each other
Nourish yourself in a regenerative environment
Optional: 2 optional excursions are organized by the retreat team, to Siena and to Abbazio San Galgano. Individual transportation costs are covered by each participant. Other smaller excursions can be organized by participants at their convenience.
The language of instruction is English. For non-native English speakers, Eva and Mirjana speak Dutch, German, French and Serbia and can assist you in those languages.
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The Mentors:
Eva Gjaltema
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.
"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
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.
“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