Dubbed “purgatory for artists,” Quarantine is devoted to discovering freedom by way of constraint. The intensive residency program takes its title from its venue: an 18th-century lazaretto off the coast of Menorca, Spain.
Constructed between 1793 and 1807, the fortress within the port of Mahón was a jail for sanitation, at which vacationers would dock and be quarantined for a number of weeks or till they recovered from illness. The power closed a few century later, though the Gothic structure and cemeteries that have been as soon as elementary to its operations stay. As we speak, the secluded island is usually utilized as a vacationer vacation spot, occasion house, and the house of a mysterious residency.
Conceived in 2017 by artist Carles Gomilla, the residency program has at all times been experimental and emerged in varied iterations earlier than debuting in its present type in 2023 with companions Joan Taltavull, Itziar Lecea, and Darren Inexperienced. Gomilla is steadfast in his dedication to the ethos of Quarantine. Every spring and fall, he and his group invite about 60 folks to the island, the place they spend the week immersed in a rigorous program. The particulars of every version are saved secret, and no telephones are allowed.
This untethering permits a particular form of focus and a way of communal vulnerability as the whole lot that occurs on the island, actually does keep on the island (residents even have the chance to burn their work on the finish of the week). The intention, the curators say, is to push artists to seek out their function, a activity they undertake by way of a fastidiously crafted schedule. Gomilla is fast to make the excellence that Quarantine shouldn’t be regarded as a retreat however reasonably a coaching program, one which asks contributors to stretch past their typical limits.
Residents rotate between artwork labs and periods with a slate of high-profile mentors—this upcoming version contains artists we’ve featured on Colossal, Yuko Shimizu and Martin Wittfooth—with a wide range of programming within the night. The specifics of the artwork lab actions are at all times evolving, permitting for shock and novelty with every day and every version. Distinction is essential, Gomilla says, as is danger. Though the construction of this system stays constant, fewer than half of the actions and specific prompts are repeated. “I discovered that the extra dangerous, the higher it really works,” Gomilla provides. “That is fairly an incentive to alter issues each version.”
As a result of this system isn’t prescriptive or targeted on perfecting strategies or introducing idea, it features as an inverse of the standard programs you’d discover in an artwork faculty. The labs take cues from “artwork, training, psychology, and technique,” Gomilla says. “I imagine method is extraordinarily necessary, however we have to construct one thing that enhances it.” As an alternative, Quarantine focuses on mindset. “We push you to confront your fears, unlearn what’s restraining you, and rediscover the hearth that makes you create,” an announcement on its web site says.
Whereas this system is concentrated largely on making visible works, it attracts individuals who may not determine first as artists. Legal professionals, psychiatrists, and even a rescue canine coach work alongside designers, artwork administrators, and idea designers.
The theme of the upcoming version is Tears within the Rain, a reference to the enduring monologue from Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. Detaching oneself from the work is a central intention, and like all of Quarantine’s editions, a part of the philosophy its creators hope to foster.
Colossal will attend this spring’s program, from April 13 to 19, 2026. Discover out extra about becoming a member of us and the applying course of on Quarantine’s web site.
