We Spent a Week Quarantined on an Uninhabited Island with 80 Artists

""This has been my home for 174 years," the man says, introducing himself as Captain Horacio Hollynwood. "I arrived in command of a well-known British merchant ship, responsible for transporting goods of every sort. But alongside grain, wool, and oil, there travelled with us certain rather unwelcome companions-terrible diseases.""

"His ability to rouse a group of studio artists into the turbulent outdoors is a fitting introduction to the activities of the week ahead. Alongside nearly 80 others from Slovakia to Argentina, Washington D.C. to Melbourne, we're here on this small, uninhabited island for Quarantine, a residency-style program conceived by artist Carles Gomila."

"For seven days, participants follow a rigorous schedule, arriving by boat on the island by 8:30 a.m. and leaving no earlier than 9:30 p.m. Their days are filled with talks, workshops, and meetings with invited artists who serve as mentors."

Captain Horacio Hollynwood, a performer living on a vacant island for 174 years, welcomes visitors to the Lazaretto of Mahón, an 18th-century fortress. He recounts his arrival on a British merchant ship, which brought diseases alongside goods. The Lazaretto once served as a quarantine site for travelers. Participants from various countries join a residency program called Quarantine, designed by artist Carles Gomila, aimed at helping artists overcome creative blocks through a structured schedule of talks, workshops, and mentorship.

Read at Colossal