IN-PERSON ARTISTIC AND CINEMATIC GATHERING CABO DE GATA, ALMERIA (SPAIN). APRIL 13-18, 2025
Do you have a project in research or development and want to share its progress, blockages, seeds, hesitations, lights and shadows with others? You do not have a project as such but, in your practice, you research ways to share knowledge or perhaps to break it apart in order to share questions? Do you have a project in research or development but can’t find the space to give it some thought and some body? You do not have a project but feel the desire to explore how to share that which has affected and transformed you in a practical and playful way? Do you have a project in research or development and need to lighten it up, get yourself out of the way, ease the density of your approach, infuse a bit of dynamism by playing with others? You do not have a project but you research ways to bring art and play to life? Do you have a project in research or development and need to experiment with other bodies: direct them, ask them to hold this or that for you, recite a paragraph or two, pose in this or that way, sing, dance, hum, or simply watch you for a while as you do your thing? You do not have a project because your project is the world we share? If yes, perhaps this proposal for a four-day micro retreat, where you can share your project, collaborate with others, and exchange knowledge, might interest you.
We don’t want to teach anything. We don’t want to produce anything. We don’t want to get anywhere. We don’t want to meet agendas, expectations, or protocols. We don’t want to do things just for the sake of doing them. We don’t want to check off a list of completed tasks. We don’t want to follow any political, spiritual, or theoretical precepts, no matter how much we may agree with certain politics, theories, or spiritualities. If we do so, it will be by default and not because we set it as our mission, theme, or title.
We want to share. We want to build community. We want to nourish this space with real, simple, everyday, easy encounters. We want to rest from ourselves. We want to do what we need to do without that meaning whatever we feel like. We want to exchange knowledge without it becoming a task. We want to investigate as a group without making participation mandatory. We want to support each other without rules being the rule. We want to play for the sake of playing. We want to challenge ourselves. We want to make our personal world – whether real or imagined – a little more open, more available, and more nourished.
QUESTIONS
A little more concise, please? It’s a gathering to share knowledge and questions about creative processes. What type of project we welcome? Any. In principle, any project that needs to do research on the margins, but since it’s hard to know if your margin aligns with ours, it’s better if you contact us, tell us about it, and we’ll see it together. And if I don’t have a project, what do I share? Share a story. But do it in a way that the story ends up being told by all of us; do it in a way that from this experience of doing something together, we come to a clearer understanding of something to apply to life; do it in a way that the story matters less than the way we get entangled together in something and are surprised by what results. What do you mean by sharing our research in a practical way? We mean that you should find a way to avoid being a talking head in front of an audience that nods to what you say while looking at you or your ‘PowerPoint’ with a face of interest while thinking about what’s for lunch. Invent the most dynamic way possible where the act itself embodies the core of your research. In other words: find a way to share artistically. How much time will I have to share? It depends. Until you and the other participants tell us what you need and what you’re thinking of, we can’t confirm what we can do with available time. Some might need an hour, while others might feel three hours are too short. The best approach is to propose something flexible that can adapt to the circumstances and limits of the encounter. In other words: be an artist, create a map to explore an uncertain territory. Will I have any materials? Yes, there will be a projector, a tripod, some basic sound equipment, a camera, a laptop, everything you would find in a house: pots, sheets, chairs, and everything you would find in a natural setting: birds, light, shadow, sand, or sky. If you need something that isn’t on this list, ask us, and if we can bring it, we’ll let you know. In other words: be an artist: do something with whatever is available, even if it’s nothing. Why should I be interested in the proposals of others? Thank you for asking this question because it allows us to clarify one of the key aspects of this gathering. Coming and participating in and through this gathering means that above any other need, the desire to share should come first. Sharing does not mean using the gathering for your personal goals; it means embracing the possibility that by opening your process/project to others, you feel that life ends up flowing through it. Thinking that something singular might contribute to enlarging the common space is what we are working on in this micro-retreat. Others’ proposals, believe it or not, whether you feel it or not, are as much yours as they are the other person’s. If this is clear to everyone, giving and sharing become one and the same thing. If this is clear to everyone, the encounter itself becomes an experience through art. Not because we make art, but because it is made by doing, in the doing of all of us. What happens if at some point I can’t or don’t want to participate in a proposal from a fellow participant? You will miss out. But there will be no judgment from us. We all have personal circumstances, and we believe these have their own reasons. Do what you need to do, but ask yourself if that need is just an excuse to avoid being affected by the unknown. Why is the event priced this way if there are no workshops where I’m guaranteed to gain knowledge, learning, or something that will appear in my portfolio of achievements? The event costs the bare minimum to make it possible. We don’t take anything extra, not even for the management and communication work we do. On the other hand, don’t confuse price with value. And lastly, if you’re asking this question, come, even if just to see if you conclude that knowledge that matters is the one that’s experienced, not the one that’s computed. I have another question that isn’t covered here, what should I do? Ask your mother, she’ll tell you the same thing we would: write to us, the possibilities are vast and don’t fit in this paragraph. Together, we try to make life easier. Why do you seem so orthodox in these FAQs? You’re absolutely right. The truth is, we would prefer you to write to us excited about the proposal without us having to communicate according to the canons of clarity and thus separate our practice from our philosophy, but on this occasion, the latter took precedence. We’re sure you understand.
IN DETAIL
Sunday, April 13, 2025:
We arrive starting at 5:00 PM. We settle in, introduce ourselves, prepare something for dinner, have dinner, and go to bed early to recharge for the next day. It is possible to arrive on Monday, April 14, as long as you do so before we begin the activities.
From Monday, April 14 to Thursday, April 17, 2025:
From 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM: we exchange research and knowledge. Each participant will be assigned a time slot between two and four hours to share their research process with the group in a practical way. The schedules and durations will be established beforehand, after a conversation with each artist, in order to accommodate the group’s needs as a whole, without diminishing any individual proposal. For the same reason, meal times will be adjusted according to the final schedule.
From 8:00 PM onwards: We relax, play music, take walks, have dinner, think, watch the stars, talk, dance, and go down to the sea.
Friday, April 18, 2025:
From 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM: we share impressions and close the gathering. We leave the place before 4:00 PM.
FOR WHOM
For accomplished artists, emerging artists, or artists who’ve turned their backs on the traditional path, who are eager to create community and share both doubts and knowledge.
WHERE
In Molino Fernán Pérez, in the region of Cabo de Gata – Níjar, Almería (España). If you need more information about the type and conditions of the accommodation, feel free to write to us.
LOGISTICS
We carpool whenever possible and if the routes align.
The food will be vegetarian. We will consider allergies and intolerances as much as possible. We take turns cooking and cleaning. We keep it simple, making it easy.
There are rooms with single and double beds. There are sofas.
Once we’re there, we’ll settle in accordance to individual needs and flexibility levels. Together and making it easy for each other.
It’s not a five-star hotel, and we are not royal housekeepers.
DATES, TIMES, AND PRICES
From April 13 to 18, 2025.
€300 if you register before March 5th.
€375 if you register after March 5th.
*For those on a tight budget: ask us.
REGISTRATION
Registration is done by sending an email to La Fragua Bruta specifying the activity you wish to attend.
Payment is made by bank transfer with «MICRORESI» as the reference.
Once we receive the proof of payment, we’ll reserve your spot for the event and confirm your registration via email.
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