SEA AIR – SEA Artist in Residence OPEN CALL 2025-26

About the Open Call

Silba Environment Art (SEA) is a platform for creative experiments on a remote Croatian island, offering immersive residencies that invite artists and practitioners into a deep relationship with the nature and redefining everyday life, resources and sustainability. Rooted in practices of slowness and deep listening, we foster sacred experimentation and a subtle attunement to the wisdom of the land, the sea, and the silence. Building on over two decades of work at the intersection of contemporary art and ecology, SEA was formally established on the island in 2015. Since then we have hosted several hundreds of international creatives to experiment with environmental art and sustainable practices. SEA AIR invites artists, researchers, healers, writers, sonic explorers, ritualists, herbalists, cultural and occult practitioners to apply for our residencies on the remote Adriatic island of Silba, in the blue heart of the Mediterranean. This is an invitation to slowness, solitude, and sacred experimentation. It is an offer of deep, transformative rest from the demands of hiperproduction and overpresence, and an opportunity to recalibrate your rhythm, reconnect with your senses, and create in attunement with the natural cycles within and around you. Proposals in all forms are welcome, but especially those open to the process of art, soundscapes, writings, rituals, documenting, healing, and everything in between. SEA AIR is not an art center or a retreat—it is an invitation to sacred rest, deep listening, and elemental creation. Here, the house runs on solar power and rainwater; the nights are deeply dark, pierced only by starlight. The forest is your studio. The silence is your collaborator. Result is inner change. Your home on Silba is an off-grid wooden house, nestled in a Mediterranean forest 15 walk from the only village on the island, and only a short walk from untouched beaches. The entire home operates in harmony with nature: power is drawn from the sun and water is collected from the sky, both precious resources to be respected. Prepare for genuine wilderness and solitude experience. This is a real wilderness and solitude experience. Active participation is expected in maintaining the house: In winter: taking care of firewood, heating, and general household needs In summer: careful water use and sometimes helping to organize extra water. This residency is not for those unprepared for independent, simple, low-tech living, or life outside the comfort zone. This is not a “tourist” accommodation —it is a genuine test of independence, presence, and respect for the island’s nature. You’ll be welcomed with a personal orientation and practical support to settle in, and then gifted the deep time and space you need for your work, your rituals, and your rest. There is no fixed schedule—just an open horizon for your own rhythm, curiosity, and quiet discovery. Forest paths lead you from your door to wild beaches and hidden coves—a short walk into the blue heart of the Mediterranean. Along the way, you’re warmly invited—never obliged—to help build, fix, or improve small parts of the house and garden, to leave your artistic blueprint and to connect with Magia Botanica, a living project of herbal magic and ritual ecology just taking root here, ready to grow with each new pair of hands and ideas. Our residencies are rooted in the principle of reciprocity, shaped by a simple, honest agreement with each guest. We are open to barter, skill-sharing, creative trade, or any combination that feels meaningful. Everything is possible if it nourishes both guest and place. We especially welcome guests who wish to share skills in woodwork, regenerative agriculture, small repairs in the house and garden, recycling, upcycling, or sustainable living , or who bring stories, tools, and knowledge to enrich the home, the island, or the wider community. You’re invited, if you feel called, to help cultivate Magia Botanica —a living project of herbal magic and ritual ecology quietly taking root here, growing slowly with the rythms of nature, sky and the sea.

What is Offered

Solitude sanctuary on Silba – a unique, car-free island oasis. Accommodation in a wooden, off-grid house (40 m²), surrounded by oak forest. Studio/workspace and garden, with wi-fi, basic tools for daily living and creative practice, few instruments and a record player. Support from the SEA team and opportunities to connect with the local community. Freedom and peace for deep work —no pressure for results, open to all disciplines and phases of process.

Requirements

Active participation is expected in maintaining the house: In winter: taking care of firewood, heating, and general household needs. In summer: careful water use and sometimes helping to organize extra water. This residency is not for those unprepared for independent, simple, low-tech living, or life outside the comfort zone. This is not a “tourist” accommodation—it is a genuine test of independence, presence, and respect for the island’s nature. Basic donation is required – this covers household maintenance costs (utilities, water, firewood, basic supplies). Additional exchange by agreement – your personal contribution can be in the form of sharing knowledge or skills, helping with house or community projects, giving workshops, barter, creative exchange, etc. Everything is arranged in advance, tailored to each resident.

How to Apply

To apply, please fill this form (https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=KsNJHD5rHU20u_U_S-AbuWhazX0_RjJIgFz1MNQjInxUNE9UVEtBRVZKWUs2TjBINFNCTVNNTldQQy4u) by August 8th 2025