ARCADIA THYSELF
- Panolabrou
- Dec 16
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 16
Α program, in a 16th century monastery, in the mountains of Peloponnese, aimed at visual artists, photographers, musicians, writers, directors, actors, etc., lasts 10 days.
In a landscape untouched by time, in a stone-built monastery from the 16th century among the pine forests and quiet waters of Mount Erymanthos, artists are invited to explore the fragile space between appearance and awareness.
Nature and Perception unfolds as a retreat of observation and renewal — an encounter with the visible world and the stillness that lies beneath it.
Through walking, listening, and creating, participants are guided to rediscover perception as a living act. The program invites a slowing down of vision — a return to presence, where art emerges not from intention, but from attention.
Set within the serenity of Poretsou Monastery, this ten-day seminar merges artistic practice with sensory reflection. It is both an inward and outward journey — a movement from the surface of things to the quiet depth of seeing.
Hidden among the slopes of Mount Erymanthos, near the historic town of Kalavryta, lies Poretsou Monastery — a place where silence has weight and time slows into rhythm.
Here, the air is pure, the light unfiltered, and the sound of the river replaces the noise of the world. The terrain is both vast and intimate — open horizons framed by stone, sky, and shadow.
Every path, every echo, every surface becomes part of the sensory experience: the texture of moss on walls, the smell of rain, the glow of evening light on the mountain. It is a landscape that sharpens perception — where observation turns into meditation, and creation emerges from attention itself.
The monastery offers simple yet serene accommodation within its stone buildings, allowing full immersion in the rhythm of the place. Days unfold in quiet continuity: walking, listening, creating, and returning — always returning — to the stillness of nature. In this landscape, nature becomes mirror, and perception becomes path.
Nature and Perception unfolds as a ten-day field of attention — a journey through landscape, silence, and creation. It is not a workshop in the conventional sense, but a process of unlearning and returning: slowing down vision to rediscover perception as an act of life itself. In this space, the artist is invited to listen before seeing, to perceive before defining — to let nature become mirror and measure.
There are no predefined goals, only an invitation to explore how perception becomes creation. Each participant follows their own rhythm, responding to place, time, and inner state. The process is guided by principles of presence, simplicity, and respect for environment — dissolving boundaries between the observer and the observed, the self and the landscape. Art emerges not from production, but from awareness.
The guiding mentor accompanies participants throughout the seminar — not to instruct, but to curate experience. Through gentle prompts, conversations, and shared walks, the mentor supports each artist’s process, cultivating trust in observation and authenticity of response. The focus is on exchange, listening, and the shared act of perceiving together.
[ Manifesto ]
Curated and directed by: Eutopia Art Residency & PanoLabrou
Location: Kalavryta, Greece
Dates: June 1–10 Sold Out, 10-19 2026
Duration - 10 Days (9 overnight stays)
Language: English / Greek
Participants: 12
Program Fees: 1480 euros
Includes
- Accommodation in a double room (two single beds) with private bathroom.
- Food from the Chef for Vegetarians (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
- Transportation by bus from Athens to Monastiri and return to Athens.
- Full-day excursion by bus to "Ancient Olympia" a UNESCO monument (transportation and entrance ticket).
- Daily activities with walking, meditation, breathing, river bathing, etc.
- Workshop space
- Curator who will be next to you in all activities daily
[ APPLY NOW ]
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