OPEN CAL: Mudhouse Residency

The Mudhouse Residency is designed to provide a cultural immersion: living, working and dining in the tiny mountain village of Agios Ioannis, on the Greek island of Crete.

The Mudhouse Residency includes the artists’ workspace, accommodations for the artist for the duration of the Residency, as well as breakfast, lunch and dinner each day within the village. Additionally, we offer all artists-in-residence the option to participate in small group studio workshops. We will make excursions to the archaeology sites of Gournia and Mochlos, wrap up the residency with a dedicated beach day, as well as hike the Thripti mountain pass.

Artists will present an open air slideshow lecture or reading on their work for fellow residents on the Mudhouse Terrace, as well as participate in a closing exhibition at the Residency’s conclusion that will be held in the exhibition space, with artwork also installed in the ruins around the village.

We understand you may have concerns about the coronavirus and how that may affect your travel plans. We want you to feel comfortable making plans to travel this summer, therefore we have issued a 100% refund policy as well as a list of actionable items to safeguard our artists’ health. We are requiring all artists be fully vaccinated before arriving at the Mudhouse.

Duration of residency

The residency period is two weeks long.

Accommodation

Artists are accommodated in houses and apartments within the village. Each artist will have their own private bedroom and may share a bathroom and kitchen. Linens are provided and laundry facilities are available, and the accommodations are professionally cleaned on a regular basis. Agios Ioannis has a large international community, with residents from Italy, France, England, and mainland Greece. Each residence was rebuilt from the ruins of the original stone village to the specific taste of the owner, and no two residences are alike. To navigate the village, artists must be able to climb stairs and tolerate heat and sunlight. Artists’ workspace needs will be taken into account when determining accommodations.

Disciplines, work equipment and assistance

The residency is inclusive to a number of artistic disciplines, with the facilities to accommodate studio artists, photographers, writers, choreographers and composers. For studio artists our facilities include 24 hour access to an open air studio space in the heart of the village.The residency also provides artists who don’t require the use of a studio with the time and structure to focus on a non-studio based project, be it a novel, screenplay, video, or photographic series. Crete is a visual feast for the eyes, arresting in natural beauty but also a complex system of modern life existing in the footprints of ancient civilizations. Hike across olive orchards or spend the time in the peaceful solitude of a mountain village, abundant in charming gardens and writing nooks.

Studio / Workspace

For studio artists our facilities include 24 hour access to approx 1000 sq ft of shared, open air studio space in the heart of the village. The studio is well ventilated, with north, south and east facing windows to provide natural light and is outfitted with electrical lighting, tables, chairs, and easels.  Artists who don’t require the use of a studio may spend their time hiking across olive orchards or tucked away in the peaceful solitude of a mountain village abundant in charming gardens and writing nooks.

Fees and support

The Residency fee is €2100, payable through TransferWise. The residency fee includes food, lodging and work space, based on the artist’s discipline, for the entire 2 week duration. We certainly understand that times are tough, and the pandemic has hit the arts sector especially hard. As an artist run residency, we strive to keep the cost as low as possible for the artists, as we realize many artists are self funding their own residencies. For this summer, we can offer artists in need of financial aid a 10% discount on the residency, which would bring the cost down to €1890. We are asking only artists who have no other means of financial assistance to take advantage of the discount. We want to be transparent in the aid we offer, we are making this discount available to any artists who comes to us with a request for financial assistance, but it is important to note that artists who can pay the residency fee without the discount are helping a fellow artist who is unable to do so.

Expectations towards the artist

The Mudhouse is pleased to host a reading, screening or viewing of works in progress as desired. Artists present a slideshow lecture or reading on their work for fellow residents, as well as participate in a closing exhibition at the Residency’s conclusion. This is optional for the artist, not obligatory.

Application deadline: 15/10/2021

Application information

Applications must be submitted through our website, artists are asked to upload 10-12 images of their work, or alternatively, links to video and sound work, or excerpts of written work. We are accepting applications currently for our first round of reviews on October 15, 2021. We are accepting only 14 artists for each session this summer. Artists are selected by the Residency committee, which includes the Board of Directors and a Mudhouse alumnus artist. Each member of the committee has an equal vote. The application process is free and open to all, but incomplete applications will not be considered.