Art Monastery
The Art Monastery is an American non-profit organization based in Springfield, Vermont (with previous locations in Calvi dell'Umbria, Labro, Caramanico Terme, and Lecce, Italy. The Art Monastery Project was founded by American artists Suiko Betsy McCall and Christopher Fülling in 2007 with the purpose of converting an historic Italian monastery into an international art production center in cooperation with the community that hosts it. A pilot project was held at the Casale Santa Brigda in Calvi dell’Umbria now known as countryhouse Vista sull'oliveto. In 2010 the Art Monastery Project found residence in the monastery San Antonio of  the medieval Italian hill town Labro, 1.5 hours north east of Rome. The building dates back to the 17th century when it was a Franciscan monastery. It now houses also the archives of Labro, a hotel, a theater and a church. The Art Monastery applies the monastic principles of discipline, contemplation, and sustainability to the creative process. The non-profit currently offers artist residencies, silent meditation retreats, wellness retreats, and transformational rituals in Vermont. The location is a 7-acre farm on the banks of the Connecticut River. Press. Italian Press. On June 2, 2010, an article on the Art  Monastery Project appeared in La Repubblica, the second largest circulation Italian daily general-interest newspaper. Articles have also appeared in Rieti newspapers Corriere and Il Messaggero, and the left-of-center paper Il Riformista. The Art Monastery is mentioned in a July 2009 article in NarniNews. On June 26, the Art Monastery was the subject of a radio interview with the mayor of Calvi dell'Umbria on RAI 1. International Press. On October 17, 2009, the Art Monastery Project was picked as one of "Five great Workaway working holidays" in the Saturday Evening Guardian. 2010 Lonely Planet. In the 2010 Lonely  Planet guide to Tuscany and Umbria, the Art Monastery Project is mentioned three times. For example: