Art Trip: Artist Residency on Hydra Island by Rowan Rosie
Hello from Glasgow (not actually Hydra-but in spirit!). I'm letting you know in advance this is a longer-than-usual newsletter so you may want to grab a coffee and take 5 minutes… Before I left for my travels at the start of Summer, I had every intention of sending out a few newsletters whilst travelling but when I arrived from Athens to Hydra, I entered a new level of relaxation and everything slowed down so much that I really wanted to be fully present and enjoy the time away from my laptop, so that plan quickly fell to the side. However, the residency, Descoverartists, was such an incredible experience and time of expansion that I really wanted to share some memories and photos of my time on the island (and I'm a very nostalgic person by nature so this will serve me in years to come for memories!).
Personally, I think Hydra is one of the most special and unique places I have travelled to. I realise that the residency experience and the people around me had a huge influence upon my time there but even if you put all of that aside it's so rare to be somewhere without cars and pollution for an extended period of time. It felt like a land forgotten in time and the essence of all the creatives and musicians that have called Hydra home, famously such as Leonard Cohen, makes the island a very creatively freeing place to be and explore.
In total, the residency was 3 weeks long and there were 8 artists in residence, including myself. There was a great mix of us from all around the world as far as LA and Texas to some European neighbours and also some more local Greek and Cypriot artists. People's practices ranged from photography, contemporary dance, graphic design, film making to drawing and painting, providing a really rich range of skills and creative interests to share and learn from each other.
The Artist Villa
Whilst on residency, we worked and stayed in a beautiful 3 story Grecian villa just 2 minutes walk from the port which is the centre of life on the island. The interiors of the house were covered in historical art and had a rustic feel with stone steps and marble details throughout.
Many meals and dances were shared on the roof terrace which had the most spectacular views every evening come sunset. The shutters in each room opened onto golden views of the hills and houses of Hydra and the peaceful car-free streets below.
Vehicles are banned on the island meaning you on only get around by foot or by donkey so it's incredibly peaceful aside from the sound of people going about their lives and the occasional church bells.
Daily Life
Daily life usually went something like this:
Wake up after a lie-in from the night before.
Breakfast in the house / coffee somewhere on the port depending who you bump into.
Lunch to escape the heat, either cooked & shared at the house / eating out at the beach bar / grabbing a spanakopita from the local bakery (heavenly).
Work on our own projects in the afternoon / excursions or workshops.
Showers and get-ready for the evening activities / dinner after watching sunset somewhere (personally I love this time on any holiday).
Walk to dinner, eating out most nights, usually going 'splitsies' sharing and trying the amazing variety of beautiful greek food or sometimes eating in and learning greek recipes from the residency organiser who was a very good cook.
Onto a bar to meet friends and other travellers and locals.
To the dance floor until early hours.
Personally, my intention with the residency was very clear from the beginning: to not put pressure on myself to produce lots of work but rather to absorb the experience as a way to get inspired and get clear about what is next for me in terms of art projects and where I'd like to steer myself over the next year or so.
I found myself experimenting in response to workshops we took part in and playing around with ideas in my sketchbook before creating 2 main final paintings which I really love. I worked mainly in the garden under the shade of the trees in the 34'c sun some days which let me tell you was challenging but the light was so incredible. it was just such an idyllic setting. The (sometimes deafening) sound of crickets and whatever music was playing soundtracked days of work alongside the other artists. We stopped (often) to chat and look at each others work and break for coffee etc. To be without a strict schedule and to forget about caring what time it was, was so liberating.
Activities: Exhibitions, Workshops & Excursions
Throughout the 3 weeks, there were a number of workshops, exhibition outings, outdoor cinema trips, gallery openings and day excursions as part of the programme.
One of my personal highlights as a 2 day masterclass workshop by Athens photographer and educator, Lambros Papnikolatos, which was a practical run through of everything to do with pursuing a career as an artist and creating artists books and publications. I could have left happy after those days alone as it was so empowering and informative, so huge gratitude and thank you to Lambros for that. I really believe this stuff should be taught as standard in art schools and I'm grateful to have had the workshops.
Another highlight was hiking the island's Moun Eros on the last day with my friend Evie. The walk took us about 2.5 hours, setting off at 6.30am to avoid the mid-day sun and it's stunning views the whole way-through forests, a short pit stop at the hill top Monastery of Prophet Elias and onto the summit. The whole thing is somewhat of an almost spiritual experience and if you ever visit the island it's a must-do.There were some great exhibitions on while we were there. Given the small size of the island, it's impressive how many prominent art galleries and shows there are present which is a testament to the undeniable creative energy of Hydra.
We were also taken out on a boat party day excursion around the island by Mr Kostas on his taxi boat to see Hydra from the water and visit some only-accessible-by-boat secluded spots and abandoned, crumbling settlements. There's few greater ways to watch the sunset than from a boat in the Aegean Sea in Summer and I hardly have any photos which is of course a sign of a beautiful day. The boat trip was followed by Greek Night at the house with greek food, wine, music and learning traditional dancing which for me was unreal levels of fun.
In Summary
What an incredible way to spend Summer, surrounded by such natural beauty everywhere you look and creating those fast-tracked connections and friendships that often happen when you share potent and new experiences with others. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to take part and take time away to get some new perspectives and inspiration.
I actually wrote a perhaps cheesy but I think necessary speech for our leaving dinner reflecting upon our time there and I'd like to share a small excerpt,
"…I feel that it's important to take a moment of gratitude for the experience we've all shared the last 3 weeks. We shouldn't forget that it's something we all worked hard to be able to do or make space for and that in itself is something to be pleased with ourselves for doing…I think the power of being around creative, supportive and super ambitious people is my personal biggest positive take-away from everything. Probably the biggest take aways and learnings are still be he understood as we all need time to process and integrate the residency but i guarantee we will all experience creative & personal growth as a result however big or small it feels, it's an achievement and we can thank ourselves for investing time and space to let the creative juices flourish."