VILLA ANNA ARTIST RETREAT 2025
PRAIA de LUZ, PORTUGAL
FEBRUARY 14 - MARCH 14
Apply for a subsidized 5-7 night artist retreat in the immensely beautiful countryside of Southern Portugal.
Applications due by December 31, 2024
Bring your own materials or instruments, and be met with time, space, nature and fellow artists.
Villa Anna fuses sustainable restoration of traditional Portuguese architecture, solar powered hot water and heated swimming pool, fans utilizing native coastal breeze, xeriscaping techniques with native vegetation and an orchard of fresh citrus and pom fruits. The open floor plan allows flow between the main indoor and outdoor living spaces with large windows and french doors, playfully blending urban thrift culture, contemporary art and modern luxury, and the private bedroom suites offer intimacy and restful retreat.
Provide your own transport and stay at Villa Anna for a modest room fee (sliding scale $75-$125 per night).
Apply for 5-7 night stay between 14 Feb - 14 Mar.
Villa Anna Artist Retreat offers space and time for 3 artists at a time. There are three beautifully appointed bedrooms with private en suite baths (linens and towels provided) (1 king, 1 queen, 2 singles/king). Artists can roam the grounds, swim, work independently, venture off to explore Lagos, Praia de Luz or beyond and connect with other artists to find inspiration. We will help coordinate food shopping, shared meals or other trips to nearby places.
Inspired by her sister's incredible restoration project (Villa Anna), Carey McKinley has organized the Villa Anna Artist Retreat to realize the potential for such a thoughtfully designed space. Carey will be on site doing her own creative projects as well as venturing out for hiking and cultural explorations. Carey is delighted to collaborate with her sister, Sara Jane, to offer the space to fellow artists to work and to find restoration themselves.
Transportation Tips
Train: The Alfa Pendular train is a high speed rail and takes around 3.5 hours from Lisbon (Oriente Station) to Lagos (it requires a train change in Tunes). (Note: If you take a slower train it can take up to 5.5 hours. Select Alfa Pendular for high speed). Tickets are $35 and there are multiple trains per day. Tickets can be purchased at rail.ninja.
Oriente Station is in city center (there is also a train station in olde town, but that is for different trains). Two Lisbon airport bus lines provide direct transfers from Lisbon Airport to the train station. Buses 705 and 744 leave the airport bus stop, located outside T1 Arrivals, and head to the city of Lisbon, stopping at Oriente Station as well. Hours for both buses are listed here.
From Lagos, we can arrange to pick you up and bring you to Villa Anna.
Car Rental: Avis, Europcar, Goldcar, Guerin, Hertz and Sixt are located in Lisbon airport's terminal. There are others off site, which requires transport to get to.