Da Vinci Art Residency

Our first edition took its cue from Leonardo — not to copy him, but to work as he did: curious, across disciplines, unafraid to try. Two long sketching sessions anchored the days, one chasing dance and movement across the page; in between, the room drifted between the camera and poetry. I read aloud a poem by an artist who couldn't make it, so she was there too. We hung everyone's work through the duplex villa, up to the terrace, until the whole house was a gallery — pieces could have changed hands, but everyone was free to carry their own work home. Some cooked their own meals. We closed with a film we made together about a single apple, a thing that means whatever you need it to: written, directed and shot by the artists, who took turns being the smoke, the light and the hands, learning how a shoot actually comes together.