Artist Residency

A different kind of Artist Colony in Costa Rica

The ODYSSEYS Artist Residency Program in Costa Rica provides the following:

Selection Committee review of each applicant's portfolio or manuscript.
Cultural immersion into a truly community -based Artists' Colony.
Residencies of one week minimum. (Preference may be given to those of one month or longer.)

Wednesday start date, beginning with an airport Pick-Up/Meet & Greet, followed by getting you settled into your accommodations for the first night.
Thursday morning hosted breakfast and orientation to the program and Costa Rica. This will include a tour of San Ramón, about 1 hour in duration.
At least two meals, usually dinner or lunch, hosted by ODYSSEYS each week. This is an opportunity for all artists in residence, regardless of their accommodations, to share a meal with each other and with the Program Director.
As part of hosted meals, artists will have the opportunity and option to share work: open studios, presentations and readings, etc...
When possible these opportunities will also be provided publicly at least once during an artist's residency, often at the end, at appropriate local venues such as the Figueres Museum and Cultural Center.
Optional weekly outings to explore galleries, museums, theatres and other aspects of local culture, scheduled as available.
Alternating Fridays left open for optional adventure trips to beaches, volcanoes, etc...

The Residency Fee covers host family accommodations and all three meals every day, plus all specified program activities, calculated as follows: $310 for a minimum stay of seven nights; $420 for up to fourteen nights, and $595 for up to 21 nights. Residencies of longer than 21 nights are billed at $750 in month-long increments, or prorated at $28 per night.

Not covered by the Residency Fee: International airfare, taxi fares for arrival and departure, travel insurance, or costs related to optional cultural outings and trips.

Writers are provided a desk or table and comfortable chair (adjustable office-style when possible), in their bedroom or sometimes in a different private area. Visual artists are provided an easel and/or work table in their bedroom and/or other suitable area(s). Additional special equipment/supplies are the responsibility of each artist. Accommodations are for both living and working, unless different arrangements are made during the application process.

All artists who require work areas that are separate from their living space must request this in advance during the application process. If available and approved, this requirement may add to the Program Fee, usually in the range of $125 per artist.

The ODYSSEYS Costa Rica standard accommodations:

HOST FAMILY / HOME STAY: A private room with a local family, a shared bath (occasionally a private bath can be arranged) and common living space (living room/dining room/outdoor areas) which may be shared with the family or may be separate for the artists. Weekly housecleaning and change of bed & bath linens. Weekly laundry services or use of on-site facilities, depending on the family and artist's preferences. All three meals, every day. If Internet is available, it may only be available at a work station in the home, or is sometimes available to artists from their own laptop. Internet cafes are not usually more than a few blocks away.

Other details:

Long distance phoning can be accomplished over the Internet as available with the accommodations, or in any of numerous local Internet Cafes. Phone cards are also ready available, sold in most markets.

Artists are encouraged to bring electronic devices with Wireless Internet capability, as Wi-Fi is now widely available in Costa Rica.

For printing, artists need to bring a portable printer with their laptop, or plan to print at any one of numerous Internet cafes within a short walk of most of our accommodations.

San Ramón has a multi-lane swimming pool in the center of town, which costs a little under $2 for the day, including on weekends. Monthly passes can be purchased for about $16/three days per week or about $20/five days a week. Las Musas (The Muses) is close by, and boasts a huge swimming pool with a water slide, as well as beautiful waterfalls and hiking trails.

Artists-in-residence frequently want to take a sight-seeing day or weekend trip to one of Costa Rica's many places of interest: volcanoes, volcanic hot springs, beaches, mountains and galleries/museums. San Ramón museums tend to have weekly events which are very inexpensive and often free. We try to organize a day-trip on alternating Fridays, with as much input as possible from all artists currently in residence. For a full day of meals, transportation and sightseeing activities (usually with a bilingual guide) artists can expect to pay around $100 per person.

Should artists wish to do more traveling during their stay, on weekends or before or after their residency, ODYSSEYS staff is happy to help with ideas about what to do individually or as a group, as well as what group tours come highly recommended because of the bilingual guides, easy & safe transportation, meals included, etc...

What to bring or plan to purchase upon arrival:

Small, portable surge protector for your laptop
Camera, enough memory chips, batteries, battery charger
Boots or tennis shoes for hiking (light weight recommended)
Sandals (and river sandals if water sports are anticipated)
Comfortable cool clothing, cotton or synthetic that dry quickly
A light jacket for the evenings
Rain gear: umbrella or raincoat
Sunscreen, hat and sunglasses
Insect repellent
Plastic bottle for water/fluid refills
Flashlight
Small day pack
Swimwear

As a Costa Rica Artists' Colony,
ODYSSEYS is a proud member of