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Quantum Prose Presents

Holbox, Mexico Residency

Discover our Writer's Program meant to elevate your creative skills and connect with our community of multidisciplinary artists.

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Elevate Consciousness through Art (A Quantum Prose Mission)

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Our bilingual Eco-Active Artists-and-Writers Program is aimed at healing and restoring, through creative writing and art, our connections to life in its multiple and vibrant human and post-human manifestations. We strongly believe that Holbox's unique atmosphere and current ecological challenges amplify our mission of cultivating this ecological awareness into our literary and visual creative expressions. We believe in the possibility of change:

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In quantum physics...

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there is no separation between the observed and the observer.

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The quantum field is a realm of infinite possibilities

that when consciously perceived, collapses into observed reality.

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Since the maturity of our consciousness determines our fate , 

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As creative artists...

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we have the power to elevate consciousness, 

heal our connections with living systems, 

and prevent ecologies like that of Holbox

from being sucked beyond the event horizon of a black hole

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Publication in the first volume of the Quantum Prose Eco-Active Series 

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Our program entails the bilingual publication* by the Quantum Prose Eco-Active Series of a collective volume to be printed, distributed and marketed with the press' channels. The topic of artistic exploration will be precisely the island of Holbox and its "black hole." Participants will be free to address the multidimensional realms of the topic (environmental, socio-political, cultural, philosophical, etc.), informed by their own personal and artistic interests, techniques and styles. We intend to have a convergence of visual and verbal languages that will ultimately produce a collective volume with the selected work produced in situ by the participants. We encourage the dynamics of collaboration among the participating artists and writers to discover relationships between visual depiction, writing and their surroundings. 

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* This program will be conducted and published in English and Spanish.

 

The Facilitators 

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Quantum Prose founding editor and author Marta del Pozo will coordinate the writing workshops and the editorial activities while the multidisciplinary Mexican artist Iván Blanco will be the facilitator of the art workshop and our licensed tour guide. 

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A Creative, Exploratory, Ecological and Connective Program

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We have designed a four-week residency program that will connect us with our mission, our surrounding natural area, our fellow artists and our own inner process of creation. Tours, a temascal experience (sweat lodge), gatherings to share our work, meditation and yoga classes will all be part of this eco-holistically inspired experience. The program includes the following (feel free to attend the activities you are mostly called to! )

 

  • Welcome and farewell dinners.

  • Drawing workshops. Get feedback from your fellow artists on your envisioned projects. 

  • Writing workshops. Get feedback from your fellow writers on your envisioned projects. 

  • Bilingual weekly gatherings over brunch to share pieces of our projects with the whole group. 

  • Art supplies needed for the visual projects (see application package).

  • Meditation sessions to root us to the present.

  • Yoga classes to stimulate the body’s innate creative energy.

  • A temascal experience to cleanse us to our essence.

  • The “tres islas” (three-island) boat tour to get to know our geographical placement.  

  • One mangrove tour to learn about the island’s biodiversity and challenges. 

  • One bioluminescence night tour to spark our creativity. 

  • One group trip to ChichenItzá archeological site and cenotes in the area (session 1 participants will be able to attend during the spring Equinox to the "descent of the serpent", an astronomical phenomenon devised by Mayan architects)

  • Participation in the first collective volume of the Quantum Prose Eco-Active Series. (Should you develop a full book of artistic merit we are open to evaluating its publication in our main catalogue)

  • International distribution through a major book distributor. 

  • Visibility and marketing through our social media, website and bookstore contacts.

  • 10 physical copies of the issue for each participant's use.

 

And an unforgettable consciousness-lifting experience through art and community in a unique and vibrant setting!!! 

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Sessions, Lodging and Meals 

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We are looking to host a total of seven participants each session. The selected participants will enjoy the program during the four-week session of their own choice (Session 1: February 27-March 26, 2022, Session 2: April 2 - April 30, 2022 ). The participants are responsible for arranging their own lodging (see recommendations below). However, we are glad to offer three ecological glamping cabins in our premises at Casa Fuego to three participants. If you are interested in being considered to be our resident writer/ artist, please, indicate it in your application package. Out of the final selected participants, we will offer these cabins to the earliest applicants interested.

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Holbox offers many distinct types of accommodations including but not limited to the ones below: 

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Hostal Tribu

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Cabañas Ida y Vuelta

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Art Maya Rooms 

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Sirenas Caribbean Rooms

 

Casa Blat-Ha (a little bit further from town, a bicycle might be convenient if you stay here)

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As for meals, you can find grocery stores in downtown Holbox and various fruit and vegetable stands. El mercadito, the town's market place, is opened everyday from 7am to 2pm, offering delicious and affordable breakfast and lunch and freshly made juices! While street vendors in the main square offer wonderful local food we also encourage everyone to enjoy the multiple cafes, restaurants and cantinas of the island and its delicious comida holboxeña! 

 

 

Progam schedule (subjected to change)

 

  • Mondays and Wednesdays:  Drawing and writing workshops.

  • Tuesdays: Tours & activities (sweat lodge, the “tres islas” (three-island), the mangrove and the bioluminescence tour)

  • Thursdays: Weekly meetings to share our work with the whole group. 

  • Monday- Friday: Meditation and yoga classes (feel free to join).

  • Friday- Sunday: You are encouraged to use the weekends to visit the archeological world heritage site of Chichenitza, the colonial city of Valladolid, or refresh yourselves in the multiple “cenotes” (natural deep-water wells) of the mainland. Other places of interest are Tulum, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres and El Cuyo.           

 

Program price 

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Apply to be part of this ground-breaking program for less than it would cost you to stay home and dream about having a great life ;) 

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$ 1500 per four-week session* (Extended deadline: December 31st)

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IMPORTANT NOTE : accommodation, meals (except those provided during our gatherings), transportation and your chosen weekend excursions are not included in the program. 

 

 

 

Travel to Holbox Island

 

The easiest way to get to Holbox is flying into Cancún (you can find roundtrip flights for less than $300!). From there you can get a shuttle to Chiquilá and from there, a ferry to the island of Holbox. Once on the island, a 10-minute taxi ride will take you almost anywhere. Remember that Holbox is a car-free sand bank and that the only vehicles allowed in the island are the taxis. If you are intending to have a car, you will have to leave it in a parking lot in Chiquilá. Buses and shuttles to Cancún and Valladolid run frequently to and from Chiquilá). Though everything is walking distance, we encourage purchasing a bicycle to enjoy the island during your stay. You will very likely be able to sell it again upon departure.

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Interested in being part of the Quantum Prose – Holbox 2022 Residency Program?  

 

Send us the following information and materials in one email to quantumprosebooks@gmail.com under the subject “QP-Holbox Program Application by “your name” (followed by the word “writer” or “artist”) ” by December 31st, 2021 (Extended deadline). After studying your application materials and the scope of your envisioned artistic project we will be offering 5 spots for writers and 5 for visual artists for each session. We will close the application process as soon as the selected participants have made paid confirmation of the spots. If you are interested in being part of this experience, we recommend you apply asap. 

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  1. Candidate’s personal information: name, short bio, address, contact phone number and preferred session for your visit (Session 1: February 27-March 26 or Session 2: April 2- April 30). If you would like to be considered for both sessions, please indicate it here. 

  2. Accommodation: Are you interested in being our writer / artist in residence and stay at a cabin in Casa Fuego?

  3. Written acknowledgment of the following: If a cancellation is made, the paid amount will only be returned in its entirety if either the program or the participant find a substitute artist to take the missing spot. The applicant will also be responsible for their own medical / accident coverage.

  4. Curriculum Vitae.

  5. Sample of your work. Writers: A writing sample in pdf format (10 pages double-spaced) either in English or Spanish. Visual artists: A shared digitalized version of your artistic dossier via Google Drive. 

  6. A paragraph containing a tentative project to be developed during the residency (200-400 words). Visual artists, please indicate which specific media is involved in your project and if shipping arrangements will be needed to return your work to your home. Remember that we are focusing on painting, drawing and photography.

  7. Other information or questions that you might have.  Just let us know…

 

 

 

Looking forward to seeing you on Holbox island!

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Casa Fuego, our ecologically-sustainable premises
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QUANTUM PROSE - HOLBOX:

An Eco-Active Artists-and-Writers Program

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Located at the north of the Yucatán peninsula, the magical bird island of Holbox, Mayan for black hole,

is a vortex of energy and biodiversity....

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Dreamily pink flamingos hanging out, unless they are scared off by tourists entranced by their rare beauty.

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Bioluminescence in Holbox: a phenomenon that occurs in the southern beaches of the island and can be observed when there is no moonlight. The waters are illuminated by certain micro-organisms that light up when they hit the waves.

But amidst all this beauty , there is a black hole... 
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The island faces environmental collapse. Much of its garbage ends up dumped illegally. Open-air dumpsites have been outlawed in Holbox, but the practice continues. 

Inspired by the Dutch barefoot runner Anne van Dalen who is running through Holland and cleaning trash while doing so, Sanne, Diana and Steven decided to do the same on Holbox island.


 
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The island saw its peace disrupted in March 2021, when Karla M was murdered in what is considered the first registered femicide in the island of Holbox. Above, banners protesting the crime.

The threat to women’s safety remains an ongoing issue: approximately 10 women are killed each day due to gender-related violence in Mexico. 
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Write, draw, take in the beauty of Holbox... 
Cenote Yalahau, Holbox
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The inexcusable white sands of Holbox
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