Resources for 360 Xochi Quetzal Writers

by with No Comment XQ News

Ajijic and Chapala have long been a mecca for writers. Some of the famous luminaries include D.H. Lawrence, Neill James, Sybille Bedford, Somerset Maugham and Tennessee Williams.

For the last 40+ years, there has been an active writing community in Ajijic. In fact, it is the longest-running writer’s group in all of Mexico!

The Ajijic Writers Group is alive and well in Ajijic but has no formal status — officers, offices, web page, etc. The group meets on the first and third Friday of every month from 11am to 1pm on the patio of the Nueva Posada.  Visitors are very welcome and a very convivial lunch is available after the meeting. 

Current writers are from the U.S. and Canada, as well as a wide variety of English-speaking countries around the world. Occasionally but infrequently poetry or short stories are presented in Spanish.

The Lake Chapala Society (LCS) in Ajijic sponsors “Write to a Prompt” on Thursdays from 10am to 12pm: This is a drop-in writer’s group. Writers are given 45 minutes to write on a given prompt/topic. This is followed by time to read and share the writings. 

Visiting writers should know that the LCS Library is the largest English-speaking library in Mexico, maybe in Latin America; and that the LCS used book store is also the only real English language bookstore in the area — but several of the thrift shops on the Carretera also have large holdings of English language books.  https://lakechapalasociety.com/public/

The Monica Cardenas Galleria in San Antonio prints and sells “artists’ books” and small editions of poetry. The Galleria is an informal gathering center for Spanish speaking poets and writers in the area and often sponsors public readings to coincide with their openings.  http://galeriamonicacardenas.com/

Articles:

https://escapetoajijic.com/ajijic-writers/ 

https://www.chapala.com/elojo/245-articles-2019/march-2019/4523-the-ajijic-writers-group

 https://www.chapala.com/lakechapala/writers-at-lakeside/

How do you sell a residency?

by XQ News

In the Spring of 2022, after running the 360 Xochi Quetzal Artist & Writers Residency (360 XQMX) for 10 years, and as my art career began to take off, I realized that it was time to sell the residency. 

Being an international artist requires a massive amount of logistics and administrative work, and I needed to divert my residency responsibilities to someone else in order to make more time for my own increasing workload. 

Deborah Kruger is handing over the reins!

How, you may ask, can you sell a residency program since it’s not a physical object? What I had to sell are all the facets that make up a residency, and if you wanted to start from scratch, it would take at least a year and a lot of money to create the administrative foundation for a new program. What I had to offer was a turn-key operation that included the following components:

      • A well-established international residency

      • A comprehensive website and identifiable logo

      • Four social media platforms with active followers

      • A proven marketing plan that included a 10,000+ name mailing list that was developed over many years, integration between the website/newsletter/database, one hundred listing websites (and a team member who knows how to post them!) and memberships in high profile residency organizations

      • An international reputation and repeat business

Introducing Bethany Anne Putnam, the new Owner and Director

New XQ Bethany with necklace

Sometimes in life, the answer to a complex question is right in front of you. In my case, the new Director, Bethany Anne Putnam, was already a friend and colleague. Bethany has a background in artist & musician management and an extensive career in the hospitality industry. 

Upon moving to Ajijic in 2018, she was the director of an immersive art installation, founded the Lakeside Shutterbugs photography group, wrote arts-focused articles for the Guadalajara Reporter and was elected President of the Ajijic Society of the Arts. To say it was a match made in heaven is an understatement. 

Handing Over the Reins with a new name and branding ...

It’s never easy to hand over a project that you have started and grown from scratch. However, I have complete faith in Bethany to take the residency to the next level. She has already instituted a new program called Artistas Juntos ~ Artists Together. This monthly gathering gives visiting resident artists and writers the opportunity to talk about their work to an appreciative audience of other area creatives and the general public. 

Bethany has the administrative chops, the drive, the work ethic and the vision to bring new opportunities to the residency. I look forward to seeing how she brings more visibility to the program in Mexico and beyond. She has already added many new programming options and envisions an increasingly diverse population of residents. She has changed the name, from the 360 Xochi Quetzal Artist & Writers Residency to 360 XQMX ~ Residency for Creatives, in an effort to be more inclusive of a wide range of art forms. Historically the residency has welcomed painters, authors, fiber artists, musicians, photographers, ceramicists, sketch artists and poets. The new tagline is more representative of our diverse and inspiring residents. 

BIPOC Winner Rosa Leff
Resident Artists relaxing at thermal spa
Resident poet, writer, performance artist Pamela Sneed
Resident sculptor Michael Pribich presenting his work at Artistas Juntos

Many creatives have told me that they were on the 360 XQMX mailing list for years and suddenly, everything conspired for making it the right time to attend. If that happens to describe you, I hope you are enjoying this new and improved website! Read all about the lovely options for live/work spaces and hopefully find the right fit for your residency, Bethany is ready to give you an amazing residency experience! 

      -Deborah “Cobra” Kruger

PS – I am not going anywhere. I will remain available to Bethany to answer questions and be a sounding board for her ideas. My production studio in Chapala runs studio tours 1 – 2 times a month. I look forward to meeting you during your residency. 

BIPOC Residency Spring 2023

by XQ News

XQ News

For the last 10 years, 360 Xochi Quetzal Artists and Writers Residency has offered hundreds of artists of varied disciplines the opportunity to enjoy a self-directed residency in Chapala, México.  Artists have been inspired by the beauty of Lake Chapala, the largest lake in México. Our website  has numerous testimonials about how residencies have taken their art to new places. 360 Xochi Quetzal has also attracted artistic people who have made  the Lakeside area of México their home. Truly, 360 Xochi Quetzal has become a center of innovative connection.

In commemoration of the 360 Xochi Quetzal Artist and Writers Residency’s 10th anniversary, a new residency program was announced: The Free BIPOC Residency in Mexico. Applications opened in the fall of 2022 to artists who identify as Black, Indigenous or Persons of Color. 

And the winner is.....

After a highly competitive jury process, we are happy to announce our First Place winner, Rosa Leff of Baltimore, Maryland. Ms. Leff is an award-winning visual artist who uses cut paper to illustrate scenes from the inner city. Cut paper is a traditional art form from many cultures, including Latino and Jewish, which along with being African American, are part of Leff’s multi-cultural identity.

Our Winner will spend one month living for free at a beautifully appointed live/work apartment on the grounds of the historic Hotel Villa QQ, a 20th century National Cultural Heritage site here in Chapala and she will also receive a $250 stipend that can be applied to airfare, food, or expenses. 

The Runners Up....

Our Runner-ups will receive a discount on registration for future BIPOC residencies. We will feature more about them on our social media over the coming year, so stay tuned!

Honorable mention goes to our First runner-up, Karen Miranda Augustine from Toronto Canada.  Her fiction and coming of age writing sample was extremely compelling and hard to put down. 

Our Second Runner-up was Annie McCone-Lopez from Manhattan Beach, CA. Annie creates a personal and contemporary narrative using traditional Mexican iconography. 

The aim of this new residency is to provide artists an opportunity to benefit from having uninterrupted time to devote to their creativity, without the normal stressors and distractions that come with daily life.  The Covid-19 pandemic, created a degree of havoc and disruption in everyone’s lives especially in Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities where treatment options were less available and the death toll much higher. Many residencies require some form of output by the resident artists. The radical component of the 360 Xochi Quetzal BIPOC Residency is that it encourages the key component of REST!

While rest is essential for everyone, it’s especially necessary for  BIPOC people.  We believe rest is a form of self-care, and a form of protest against a capitalist system that is often at odds with BIPOC and creative communities. Rest provides an opportunity to replenish our mental, physical, and emotional energy and to cope with the stress of daily life including relentless microaggressions suffered by BIPOC people.  It helps us to be more productive and creative, and to develop healthier relationships with ourselves and our community.  Rest helps us to restore our peace and balance, allowing us to approach our lives and our artmaking with a greater sense of clarity, resolve and purpose. 

We hope that our BIPOC Winner Rosa Leff uses this month in whatever way best supports her and her remarkable artwork. There is no pressure for her to complete anything. We support her choices to use the month to rest and recharge. And to deepen her artistic practice using all the resources at her disposal.

We will be telling you more about Rosa in forthcoming blogs and social media posts. Please make sure that you follow us on Instagram @360xochiquetzal and on Facebook at 360 Xochi Quetzal.

RESOURCES:

Winner/Rosa Leff in Visual Art
Website: https://rosaleff.com/
Instagram: @rosaleff   

First Runner-Up/Karen Miranda Augustine in Writing
Website: https://karenmirandaaugustine.com/
Twitter: @KMAugustine

Second Runner-Up/Annie McCone-Lopez in Visual Art
Website:  https://anniemcconelopez.artcall.org
Instagram:  @anniemcconelopez

Rosa Leff

Contact: Instagram Youtube Internet-explorer Rosa Leff, Winner of the first 360 Xochi Quetzal BIPOC Residency in Visual Art Rosa Leff grew up in an urban

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Karen Miranda Augustine

Karen Miranda Augustine, First Runner-Up of the first 360 Xochi Quetzal BIPOC Residency in Writing Canadian writer and mixed-media artist Karen Miranda Augustine was our

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Annie McCone-Lopez

Contact: Instagram WordPress Annie McCone-Lopez, Second Runner-Up of the first 360 Xochi Quetzal BIPOC Residency in Visual Art LA-based visual artist Annie McCone-Lopez explores her

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New 360 Xochi Quetzal Residency Opportunity

by XQ News

Free Winter BIPOC Residency in Mexico

To celebrate the tenth year of the 360 Xochi Quetzal Residency, we have decided to present a new residency option. Beginning in February 2023, we will be offering a Free BiPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) Winter Residency. In order to do this, we will revert to our original, competitive model, where applicants upload their applications on the CAFÉ (Call for Entry) portal.

On Sunday September 4th, our new BIPOC application will go live on CAFÉ.  The application period will continue until midnight on Sunday November 20, 2022. There is a 12-week window for sending in applications. CAFÉ is a well-established artist application platform. Applicants will need to set up a profile on CAFÉ in order to apply. Here is the link: https://artist.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=10747
The Co-Director of the BIPOC Residency will be Sunya Folayan, a former 360 Xochi Quetzal resident artist. who like so many artists, fell in love with Chapala where she now makes her home. Sunya’s art practice uses indigo craft and ritual as metaphor for reclaiming cultural practices from the African diaspora for resistance, rest and restoration. Sunya is also a lifelong student of West African dance and percussion and she plays the instruments of the Jembe orchestra. Sunya identifies as a Black and Indigenous artist. In addition to heading up the residency jury, she will also create special programming for the BIPOC Residency.

While the application fee will generally cost $40, we will offer an Early Bird Discount that runs from September 4 – October 30, 2022. During that time period, the application fee will only cost $35. We encourage applicants to take advantage of this discount! (See Café Applications Help for details on how to apply this discount)

The winner of the new BIPOC Residency will receive a free live/work space for one-month at the Carriage House apartment at the Hotel Villa QQ, an historic compound in downtown Chapala, Mexico. The winner will also get a $250 stipend to apply towards airfare costs or meals during the Residency. The Hotel Villa QQ has partnered with the Residency since 2021 and dozens of resident artists have enjoyed their beautiful gardens, swimming pool, hot tub and other amenities. The hotel is just steps away from the Malecon, a park that runs alongside Lake Chapala, the largest lake in Mexico.

An ice cream pot is one for boiling seafood. It is commonly used for fishing, but can also be used to make other types of seafood. In this boiler, you can also store the medicine cialis 80mg to preserve their useful actions and this boiler can be bought on this website.

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There will be other resident artists enjoying personal residencies during this timeframe and the winner of the BIPOC Residency will not only spend the month deepening their creative practice, but also have the opportunity to enjoy the international creative community in Chapala. As of this writing, there will be six other 360 Xochi Quetzal residents in February and March 2023 including visual artists from Vancouver and Nova Scotia, Canada, as well as the United Kingdom. There will also be a writer-in-residence from Los Angeles, CA.

Sunya’s vision for the residency:

“I see our new BIPOC residency as a refuge and opportunity to redress systemic racism by offering a tender place to lay down our burdens, reconnect with ourselves and our creativity in order to renew our sense of agency and purpose.”

To read more about the residency in Mexico, please click HERE. To apply for the 360 Xochi Quetzal Free Winter BIPOC Residency, you can access the application on CAFÉ:  https://artist.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=10747
360 Xochi Quetzal Resident Muralist Shela Yu paints a mural on one of our residency buildings.
360 Xochi Quetzal Musician Kipp Kahlia is a social justice singer/songwriter