About Studio Atelierista
What is Studio Atelierista?
Studio Atelierista is an international arts-based project that works through social art residencies to support collective creativity in times of global disruption and crisis.
What does 'awareness-based collective creativity through social arts' mean?
Western society often celebrates individual talent and the figure of the hero or entrepreneur. At Studio Atelierista, instead, we believe creativity can be cultivated as a collective process, especially in response to today's interconnected challenges.
Collective creativity is our (inescapable) capacity to create together at each moment—not only with other people, but also in relationship with the more-than-human world.
Awareness-based means creating with awareness of ourselves, others, and the world, recognizing the relationships and interdependence that connect us.
Social arts is our method: embodied, material, artistic, and co-creative practices that help make collective transformation visible.
What do you actually do?
We organize social arts residencies in collaboration with local artists, educators, social entrepreneurs, and communities in different parts of the world. These residencies act as catalysts for awareness-based collective action in their local contexts.
Residencies can last from a few days to several months. Longer programs usually combine immersive in-person gatherings with online sessions and follow-up meetings. Beyond the residency itself, they often spark new collaborations, projects, learning communities, and other initiatives that continue long after the experience ends.
What makes Studio Atelierista different from other artist residencies?
Studio Atelierista is not centered on supporting the artistic production of an individual. Instead, we see the residency as a social and relational process, where creation emerges through the relationships and interdependencies between self, others, and the more-than-human world. The artwork is not simply made by individuals—it is collectively created.
We also see residencies as more than spaces for artistic production. Depending on the question being explored, they can become living laboratories for interdisciplinary collaboration, spaces for pedagogical innovation, or catalysts for new forms of collective practice.
What is a social artwork?
For us, a social artwork is both a process and an outcome. The way it is created is inseparable from what is ultimately created, and often the process itself is the most meaningful part of the work.
A social artwork is therefore based on shared authorship. Rather than belonging to a single artist, it emerges through the relationships between ourselves, others, and the more-than-human world. We see creation as something that happens in the space between these relationships.
The Residencies
Who are the residencies for?
Our residencies bring together people from different disciplines, ages, and countries. Participants often include artists, designers, creative practitioners, facilitators, mediators, educators, social entrepreneurs, and young people. More than a specific field of practice, we look for people interested in exploring new ways of creating, learning, and working together.
Can anyone participate?
At the moment, most of our residencies are by invitation. As we continue developing the methodology, we have been curating each group through the networks, organizations, and collaborators we have built relationships with over the years. This allows us to continue an ongoing thread of research and practice across different contexts.
Our hope is to gradually expand access as we strengthen the project's financial sustainability and organizational capacity. In the future, we aim to host more residencies, welcome a broader range of participants, and increase the support available for people to take part. In the meantime, if you wish to be informed, please follow our instagram page.
Is there a participation fee?
So far, our residencies have been supported through grants, mobility funding (such as Erasmus+), and philanthropic contributions. We continue exploring funding models that can support a more diverse group of participants and expand access to spaces for collective creativity.
How are the residencies designed?
Each residency begins with a process of attunement to the questions we feel are most needed in the present moment. Every residency is designed around a shared inquiry that evolves over time. A core team of facilitators and collaborators then develops the program together.
Our questions have shifted over the years—from What is social art? and How do we create a collective work of art?, to How do we make the intangible visible?, How do we craft pedagogies of togetherness?, and more recently, How do we imagine worlds otherwise?
These questions guide the design of each residency. A core team of facilitators and collaborators then develops the program together, with preparation ranging from a few months to, in some cases, one or two years.
Where have the residencies taken place?
Our residencies have evolved over the years as part of an ongoing process of research and practice. Each location has been chosen through meaningful collaborations and relationships that have shaped the development of the project.
The first social art residencies took place in the Yucatán, Mexico, in collaboration with Transformación, Arte y Educación. This was followed by a residency in Prato and Florence, Italy, developed through Ricardo Dutra's PhD research at Monash University and culminating in its final exhibition in collaboration with ParamitaLab. Since then we have hosted residencies in Paris and Moulins, France, in Helsinki, Finland, and, most recently, in Pedra Azul, Espírito Santo, Brazil
Research & Impact
How is Studio Atelierista connected to research?
Many of the people who design and facilitate our residencies are also researchers and educators based at universities, bringing their academic and artistic experience into the work.
More importantly, we see the residencies themselves as a form of research. Through learning by doing, each residency becomes an action research process—not to perfect a single model, but to continually deepen our understanding of what social art residencies can be and what they can make possible.
What happens after a residency?
The residency is often the beginning rather than the end of the journey. Through an immersive shared experience, relationships deepen, the social field strengthens, and new possibilities begin to emerge.
We've seen participants go on to write research grants, develop collaborative projects, create practice groups, teach courses together, publish articles, and even propose new residencies. Some collaborations have grown into lasting international networks, such as the WellSpaces Network. In this sense, each residency continues to reverberate long after it has ended.
Collaborate
Can organizations or universities partner with Studio Atelierista?
Absolutely. We welcome collaborations with universities, cultural organizations, communities, and other partners who share our interests.
Partnerships can take many forms: developing research projects around shared questions, hosting a residency, or collaborating to create new residencies in places where we have not yet worked. If you are interested in exploring a collaboration, we'd love to hear from you.
How can I get involved?
There are several ways to get involved. The simplest is to get in touch through our contact form. Whether you have an idea, a question, or would like to explore a collaboration, we'd be happy to hear from you.
You can also explore our Beyond the Residencies section, where we share projects, collaborations, and initiatives that have emerged from past residencies. You may find opportunities to join or connect with work already happening.
If you live in a city where we've hosted a residency, we may be able to connect you with local collaborators and activities that continue beyond the residency itself.
Finally, as we expand our work, we plan to open some residencies through public calls. Any upcoming opportunities will be announced on our website.