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FAD Magazine covers contemporary art – News, Exhibitions and Interviews reported on from London

Xenia – an idyllic retreat for creatives in the Hampshire countryside

I step out of a car in the rural North Hampshire countryside surrounded by green fields and farm animals including cows, goats and alpacas. It’s quite the contrast as when I got into the car I was under the Hammersmith flyover opposite people queueing for a Zayn concert at the Apollo theatre.

We’re at the Xenia creative retreat set up by art collector and philanthropist Bianca Roden to provide creative insight and some restorative breathing space for artists, where they can create with access to studio spaces and a place to stay. After I’d seen the facilities, the beautiful countryside around it, and the fact writers have also stayed at the retreat, I’ll admit I was tempted. 

Artists can vary how long they stay at the retreat and for now, Bianca is hand-selecting the artists that get to stay there, and the previous residents had an eight-day exhibition at Daniel Katz Gallery – it’s an exhibition I missed, but it included impressive artists such as painter Hugo Wilson who takes inspiration from the Old Masters and Daisy May Collingridge who creates fleshy sculpture out of fabric. The list of previous artists at the retreat includes impressive emerging and mid-career artists. 

The visit was a chance for me to meet the current artist cohort who all have practices that could benefit from spending time in such a bucolic setting. Zoe Carlon paints around domestic spaces including interiors and views of the outside world, Adam Leef captures the merest essence of figures and landscapes, Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck’s ecological messages in her art (second image) make this the perfect place for her and Jatinder Singh Durhailay’s works inspired by South Asian miniature paintings completes the quartet. 

There’s also flexibility for artists who want to stay longer and stay with their partners. The current cohort’s stays vary between two and six weeks. 

I’ve always been aware of artist residencies as important to developing an artist’s practice but until this year I’d never been to any of them – this being my third visit this year. I’m only now appreciating how important they are for artists and how they rely on generous patrons such as Bianca Roden to put these artists up at zero or low cost. 

one of the studio spaces for artists.

I know of some residencies that require some of the costs to be covered and others that offer the residency in exchange for artwork, and in Xenia’s case, there are no strings and the option to show in a group show at the end of the residency. Ultimately anyone who runs a residency isn’t doing it for money, it comes from wanting to support artists and see them flourish.  

Residencies like this one are an important part of artist patronage that is invaluable to artists, as can be seen by testimonies from previous artists. With recent reports showing that artist salaries are at an all-time low, it’s great to see people offering them the support they need. 

Xenia is a creative retreat based in the North Hampshire countryside.

First image – one of the studios from the outside. Second image: Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck at work at the residency. Third image: one of the studio spaces for artists.

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