The Atacama Desert is an ethereal landscape that invites reflection on the thresholds between humanity and vast more-than-human worlds. With volcanic plains, metamorphic pools, and night skies that intertwine human existence with the cosmos, it offers a space for contemplation and invites us to rethink our relationship with the natural world. The extreme conditions of this territory challenge perceptions of life on Earth, revealing stories of resilience and coexistence in the face of environmental fragility. As one of the driest places on the planet, it faces growing threats from over-mining and unsustainable water extraction — reflecting broader narratives of environmental exploitation and planetary imbalance.

Rather than prescribing outcomes, our residency offers time and space for participants to develop their own reflective processes and creative inquiries, engaging with the place through careful observation, situated learning, and personal artistic exploration during their time here.

Residency Program

Our site-responsive residencies provide spaces for reflective artistic practice, situated research, and dialogue rooted in ecological and cultural contexts. Through independent work, guided field visits, and sessions with long-term local collaborators, participants explore diverse relationships with land, ecologies, and knowledge systems. The program fosters shared learning and supports artists and practitioners in developing thoughtful, place-based work in relation to the specific ecologies, cultures, and knowledge systems of each territory.

Location

The Atacama Desert is a vast, high-altitude landscape shaped by extreme aridity, active volcanism, and unique ecological adaptations. At the foothills of the Andes, sheltered within agricultural oases sustained by snowmelt, we host our residency within a small rural context that offers both proximity to the surrounding ecosystems and space for focused, reflective work.

The oases provide a point of contrast to the wider desert’s open terrain — where life, agriculture, and human presence have coexisted for generations within these fragile, water-fed valleys. Here, participants are invited into an immersive period of work, reflection, and place-based inquiry.

Rooted in movement, our project remains nomadic by design—shifting our base within the wider region depending on season, conditions, and ongoing work. Over the years, we have carefully traversed the diverse ecologies of this 128,000 km² territory—from the Pacific coast to the high-altitude borders of Argentina and Bolivia. Our current base near San Pedro de Atacama offers both refuge and reach—situated between the Salar, the mountains, and diverse habitats home to flamingos, wild camelids, pumas, ancient geologies, and layers of cultural history.

Applications are currently open to join during the following time periods:

2026

• September 27 - October 18, 2026

• October 24 - November 14, 2026

• November 20 - December 11, 2026