Ponderosa

Ponderosa² continues to offer a series of self-funded, self-organised residency slots for artists, curators, dancers, writers, thinkers, choreographers, performers and practitioners from across all disciplines. This is an opportunity for artistic development and research, alone or together with other participants. Perhaps you want to go deeper with an existing project or idea, a vision or concept you want to share or introduce to others. Or you might be looking for inspiration to start something new. You might come with one intention and discover something else entirely – this is a great possibility. Spending a week in a rural location and away from the distractions of day to day life, the residency offers a period of time to focus and connect with others. There is plenty of space to nurture the growth of ideas, to play around with them and experiment. Across our studios, library, garden and beautiful surroundings of the national park “Nationalpark Unteres Odertal”, canal, rivers and lakes, fields and forest there are a multitude of ways to interact with nature, and find ways of being in kinship with each other and the land. The residency is a collaborative environment and Ponderosa² is a dynamic place, so taking part asks that you are comfortable being in relationship with other residents, and the community of people who also utilise the spaces in Stolzenhagen. A soft suggested structure is offered by our residency host, which leaves a lot of room for the experience to be shaped by the group of residents onsite. We are inviting you to experiment with individual and collaborative processes, find ways of sharing space and work and cultivate independence and interdependence. In order to keep costs as low as possible, food is provided on a self-catering basis. We‘re also sharing living areas and studio time. Depending on the season we have different options. We hope you will also find inspiration and meaningful learnings that contribute to your art and practice in the daily necessities of living together. We hope you will develop embodied dialogues, cook and share dinners together and exchange ideas over the firepit or sauna. Or take space when you need it. We hope you might explore new means of expression and contribute to the continuous process of reinterpretation and innovation of what Ponderosa² is, and who you are.

What’s included in the price? Accommodation 6 nights dormitory sleeping in single beds – please bring your own towel! If you prefer to camp please bring your own tent, sleeping mat and sleeping bag Private rooms might be available for an extra fee, please email us to consider your options here. Food We will organise and provide the shopping of ingredients for you to cook communally (vegan/ vegetarian meals) in the community kitchen. Cooking, meal times and cleaning in the kitchen will be organised together with other people sharing the space. We have tea and coffee available, as well as a selection of beverages. We have an “honesty bar” where you mark and pay for your drinks by yourself. Shared Studio Use Studio use will be negotiated between the residents once you arrive onsite. The Small Studio is dedicated for use by the residency collective, this is a walk through space to the Mini Studio which is used for dorm sleeping Stolpe – a studio with a soundsystem is accessible via 15 minutes cycle along the canal, bikes are provided onsite. The Light Castle and Kuhstall are available in negotiation with other groups renting space at Ponderosa² Each studio has a different technical set up – a list of what’s available will be sent to you in advance, and can be accessed via a check out system Residency Experience Ponderosa² is a dynamic space used by residents, groups renting and people who live and work in the community.The residency weeks offer a soft framework – there will for sure be an introduction meeting on the first day and a few dedicated meetings with us to check in and answer any questions – the rest of it is up to you to collaborate, improvise and create together!

It’s impossible to describe a regular week at Ponderosa² but we hope that you will get involved in participating in and creating morning practice and community offerings as well as a weekly community sauna. If you desire, you can create opportunities for sharing or showing. We ask that you keep to our sound rules, and leave no trace by putting things back and cleaning up after performances

There is plenty of space to nurture the growth of ideas, to play around with them and experiment. Across our studios, library, garden and beautiful surroundings of the national park “Nationalpark Unteres Odertal”, canal, rivers and lakes, fields and forest there are a multitude of ways to interact with nature, and find ways of being in kinship with each other and the land.