Sedona Summer Colony Frequently Asked Questions Here’s what you need to know about the Sedona Summer Colony Prpeared by Co-founder Eric Holowacz _____________________________________________________________________
The Essential Questions What’s the story behind the Sedona Summer Colony? Sedona Summer Colony—developed as a partnership between Sedona Arts Center and Verde Valley School—has been designed as a new American summer residency for creative people and cultural producers. The program will serve as an opportunity to explore Sedona's unique red rock landscapes, Southwest heritage, local cultures past and present, and modern-day sense of place. At the very heart of the idea is a guest-host relationship offering time and space in the village-like campus of Verde Valley School—and a summer residency to focus on ideas, new work, potential collaborations, or the germination of a project. Beneath that is the simple opportunity to get away from a familiar routine and find quiet contemplation and solitude in one of the most beautiful places on Earth. We take as our inspiration the original colonies like Yaddo, MacDowell, Hambidge Center, Villa Montalvo, and the American Academy in Rome. We share their strong belief in the power of interdisciplinary associations of artists, and the commingling of cultural visionaries over meals, excursions, spontaneous interaction, and daily life. The inaugural Sedona Summer Colony in 2016 will test our model and our capacity to play host, and lay the groundwork for what we hope might be America’s next great 21st century artists’ colony.
How did the partnership between Verde Valley School and Sedona Arts Center come about? Sedona Summer Colony began in Fall 2015 with the first meeting between Eric Holowacz, executive director of Sedona Arts Center and Paul Amadio, Head of Verde Valley School. Both arrived in Sedona in July 2015 to lead well-established, but staid organizations. Holowacz, who brought a background establishing artist residencies and cultural exchanges, proposed the idea of using the vacant summer campus to invite and house interesting creative people from all over the world. Amadio, who also had experience with summer residency programs and brought an earlier career as a stage performer, saw a ready partnership in the name of cultural advancement and local identity. Throughout early 2016, the two continued working on the model for the inaugural program. Creative people were invited, resources were put in place, and logistics were reckoned with. From mid-June to early-August, over 125+ artists and cultural producers from as far away as Hobart, Tasmania and Manitoba, Canada, will descend on the campus and become part of summertime in Sedona.