Ano Asites Artists Residency
An artist's residency located in a rural mountain village on the Greek island of Crete. The residency's aim is to bring life back to a beautiful village that the locals have started to leave behind to move to the nearby city.
There is no formal program. The residency is open to all creatives and is linked to the much larger Lakkos artists residency in Heraklion city. The artists have been making murals in areas of the village that need uplifting. The residency is behind schedule because of the pandemic so at the moment there is just one house. Hopefully, in 2023 they will expand into a couple of new houses with the aim of building a more permanent artistic community.
The residency is in its growing stage so there is no set outcome. The organisers hope to close the city residency in a couple of years and expand the village one. It is possible to have presentations at the end of the artists' stay but as it is a small village don't expect to have many people attending. As Heraklion city is only a half-hour drive away daytime/ weekend events are the best. It is possible to arrange community-based projects with the locals as long as the time and projects are right.
One studio room was once a room for keeping sheep/ animals/ food storage. The other one was a bedroom and can still be used as a bedroom if a family or friends book the full house.
At the moment there is just one house, hopefully, in 2023 there will be one more. The current house has two parts each with one bedroom and one studio space. Both parts share the kitchen, bathroom, and courtyard. So far most creatives prefer to book the full house for themselves and not share.
There are no street names or numbers in the village. As the house is old and quirky a full list of information can be given when needed. The website should answer most questions.