Slow down. Look closely. Respond to what you find.

This week-long creative residency in southern Italy is designed for artists who want time, space, and inspiration in a setting that invites fresh ways of seeing. Set in a small group of like-minded creatives, it offers the chance to make work in a place you may never have visited before, with thoughtful guidance from an artist who knows how to help you notice more.

Join Australian mixed media artist Tara Axford at Masseria Specula in February 2027 for a residency that is not an art class and not a step-by-step workshop. Instead, it is a week devoted to looking, gathering, making, and conversation, led by one of the most recognisable voices in contemporary mixed media practice.

Based in a beautifully restored 17th-century farmhouse on the Puglian coast, the experience moves between landscape walks, collecting visual impressions, studio time, group discussion, and visits to local makers and historic towns. As you respond to the textures, colours, and rhythms of southern Italy, you’ll build a body of work and return home with new ideas, possibilities, and creative momentum.

No advanced experience is required, and there is no need to arrive with a friend. All you need is curiosity, openness, and the wish to spend a week immersed in something that is entirely your own.

Places are limited to 8 to 10 artists. All meals, accommodation, excursions, and on-site experiences are included. Your journey to Puglia is the only thing you need to arrange.

ABOUT TARA

Tara Axford is a mixed media artist working with print, collage, fibre, and photography. Her practice is shaped by the places around her and by an ongoing interest in creative living. She is drawn to the forgotten, the weathered, and the discarded, and often begins by zooming in on an environment, observing it closely, and abstracting its essence into something new. In doing so, she invites viewers to notice what may have previously gone overlooked.

Her current work explores the meeting point of 2D and 3D forms, bringing together traces of human life and nature while considering contrasts such as busy and calm, messy and ordered, disruption and serenity. A deep respect for handmade processes, reuse, and the time involved in creating something unique continues to shape her artistic practice.

Creative programme and facilitation by Tara Axford

The week follows a clear rhythm of looking, gathering, making, and talking. Some moments are structured, while others are left open for reflection and personal exploration. Studio sessions are balanced with walks, excursions, shared meals, and quieter pauses to sit with what you have noticed.

Before arrival, Tara will set a preparation task so you can come ready to create. Once the residency begins, she provides the creative framework, guides each day, and offers practical ways to engage with an unfamiliar place and respond to it through your own work. Drawing on the tools she uses in her practice, she gives direction, feedback, and advice as you move between exploration and making.

This is not about following instructions step by step. It is about learning how to arrive somewhere new, observe deeply, and turn your experience into something original.

PUGLIA, THE RETREAT LOCATION

Puglia is the southernmost eastern region of Italy, with coastlines along the Adriatic, Ionian south, and Ionian west. Its landscape is known for silvery olive orchards, long sandy beaches, and some of the clearest, cleanest waters in the Mediterranean. It is also an ancient land with a long history of invasion, and towers built to defend against attackers can still be seen today.

MASSERIA SPECULA - THE VENUE

Set into a gentle hill and surrounded by 20 hectares of private land, Masseria Specula offers a peaceful retreat just 1km from the shores of the Ionian Sea. This exclusive retreat venue in Puglia is housed in a beautifully restored 17th-century farmhouse dating back to 1611.

THE ROOMS

Private bathrooms | Wi-Fi | AC & Heating | Double beds or single beds

THE FOOD

The kitchen team is made up of grandmas from Puglia who prepare authentic local recipes passed down from their mothers. Seasonal ingredients are grown in the neighbouring fields.

THE PROGRAM

DAY 1
Welcome drinks
Relax time
Dinner
DAY 2
Breakfast
Guided coastal hike from Masseria Specula to a natural salt lake, home to wild flamingos.
Lunch
Creative programme and facilitation by Tara
Relax time
Dinner
Bonfire
DAY 3
Breakfast
Excursion to Lecce, the “Florence of the South,” a striking Baroque city known for ornate architecture, vibrant culture, and rich history.
Creative programme and facilitation by Tara
Dinner
DAY 4
Breakfast
Creative programme and facilitation by Tara
Lunch
Creative programme and facilitation by Tara
Relax time
Dinner
Bonfire
DAY 5
Breakfast
Excursion to Grottaglie, a historic hill town famous for its ancient ceramic tradition, picturesque old center, narrow streets, and local pottery workshops.
Creative programme and facilitation by Tara
Dinner
DAY 6
Breakfast
Forage wild herbs, connect with the land, and enjoy a simple farm-to-table meal prepared from your harvest.
Lunch
Creative programme and facilitation by Tara
Relax time
Dinner
DAY 7
Breakfast
Creative programme and facilitation by Tara
Lunch
Creative programme and facilitation by Tara
Dinner
Puglian “Pizzica” dance workshop with live music
DAY 8
Breakfast
Departures

Wellness event in San Pietro In Bevagna