Art Monastery

San Francisco, California, United States

Disbanded Community
  • Updated on: Jul 28, 2024 (about 8 months ago)
  • Created on: Mar 10, 2020 (about 5 years ago)

Mission Statement

MISSION: The Art Monastery is a residential community dedicated to cultivating personal awakening and cultural transformation through artmaking, spiritual practice, and reciprocity with the earth. As a “social sculpture,” the Art Monastery considers communities and collaborations themselves as creative media and values the creative process and experience of all impacted when developing a wide range of performance and visual art.

Community Description

ORIGIN STORY: Suiko McCall (then known as Betsy) met Christopher Fülling at the Burning Man Festival in 2006. Christopher, an early-music vocalist and ritual theater director, had just come from working with his ensemble at a monastery in Germany. The ensemble had participated in the monks' schedule, joining them for meals and rehearsing while the monks did their work. Christopher left his time at the monastery deeply inspired and replenished. Suiko and Christopher started wondering what would happen if a group of contemporary artists were to live in a beautiful historic monastic structure, applying the thousands of years of monastic principles of discipline, contemplation, and sustainable living to creativity and the art-making process. They never stopped asking that question and now we have the Art Monastery.

HISTORY: Art Monastery Italia, a small residential community of “Artmonks”, hosted many visiting artists and guest Artmonks-in-Residence while living and working together in a centuries-old, former monastery. Together we created dozens of original works, symposia, exhibitions, and site-specific performances that animated historic spaces throughout Italy and interacted with the local communities. Our half-decade in Italy culminated with an EU grant to partner with six other intentional communities throughout Europe to share experiences and develop best practices, resulting in the publication of a book, Hosting Transformation.

CURRENT: The Art Monastery is now informally located on the ancestral land of the Kanaka Maoli, Big Island, Hawaii. While we are still exploring the possibilities of in-person artist residencies, we do offer meditation & creativity retreats and classes online.

  • Status: Disbanded
  • Started Planning: 2006
  • Started Living Together: 2008
  • Visitors Accepted: No
  • Open to New Members: Not currently, but there is a list or possibly in the future
  • Please read the details in Membership below before contacting this community.Send Message
  • Website: http://artmonastery.org
  • Business, Project, or Organization: http://artmonastery.org
  • Facebook: http://facebook.com/artmonastery
  • Other Social: http://instagram.com/artmonasteryproject
  • Contact Name: Suiko McCall
  • Phone: 4156448242

  • This Community Has Disbanded

  • Year Disbanded: 2024

    • The Art Monastery no longer has a physical location. Now we are offering silent meditation retreats aimed at creativity and online classes. We’ve relocated to San Francisco and we have dreams of being part of a solution to support artists to live and make their art in SF, but right now that vision is purely in the dreaming realm.

  • Location

    Directory Map Placeholder

    • About

    • Type(s): Spiritual or Religious
    • Programs & Activities: Organization, Resource, or Network
    • Location: Urban

    Housing

    • Status: We do not have land
    • Land Owned By: A subgroup of community members

    Membership

    • Adult Members: 2
    • Child Members: 0
    • Percent Women: 51-60%
    • Percent Men: 21-30%
    • Percent Transgender: 1-10%
    • Percent Non-Binary: 1-10%
    • Visitors Accepted: No
    • Visitor Process: Please take a look at the programs listed on our website. If it looks like your kind of thing and you'd like to know when we find a place or are accepting visitors, sign up for our moonletters (a poem & painting for each new & full moon).
    • Open to New Members: Not currently, but there is a list or possibly in the future
    • Membership Process: The first step in joining our community is to participate in one of our programs. Then, after we find land, it may be possible to become a resident (rent a room in the house and work outside) or worktrade (pay a minimal weekly fee and work 5 hours/day for the Art Monastery). After living with us for a year, we begin the process of adding you into the decision-making system.

    Government

    • Decision Making: By a council, group of Elders, or leadership group
    • Identified Leader: Yes, multiple identified leaders
    • Leadership Core Group: Yes
    • Additional Comments: We are receiving training in sociocracy.

    Economics

    • Dues, Fees, or Shared Expenses: Yes
    • Monthly Fees($): 800
    • Shared Income: None
    • Required Weekly Labor Contribution: 3
    • Open to Members with Existing Debt: Yes (some debt)

    Sustainability Practices

    • Energy Infrastructure: We are connected to the grid.
    • Current Renewable Energy Generation: Up to 25%
    • Energy Sources: Clean Energy from the Grid
    • Planned Renewable Energy Generation: Almost All, aroud 90%
    • Current Food Produced: From 50-75%
    • Planned Food Produced: Almost All, around 90%
    • Food Produced Locally: Almost All, around 90%

    Lifestyle

    • Common Facilities: Internet
    • Internet Available: Yes, community provides it
    • Internet Fast?: Yes, exceptionally.
    • Cellphone Service: Good for most people.
    • Shared Meals: 2-5 times per week
    • Dietary Practices:
      • Omnivorous (plants and animals)
      • Paleo (no grains, dairy, processed foods, or legumes)
      • Local
      • Organic (no pesticides or synthetic fertilizers)
      • GMO Free (only non-genetically modified organisms)
      • Mostly Vegetarian
      • Mostly Vegan
      • Opportunivore (dumpster diving, nature harvesting, etc.)
      • Dairy-Free
      • Gluten-Free
    • Dietary Choice or Restrictions: No - people may eat however they wish.
    • Special Diets OK: Yes
    • Alcohol Use: Yes, used often.
    • Tobacco Use: Yes, used seldomly, or ceremoniously.
    • Common Spiritual Practice(s): Buddhist
    • Spiritual Practice Expected?: No
    • Healthcare Options: Up to each family, household, or individual

    Community Network or Organization Affiliations

    Global Ecovillage Network (GEN)

    Fair Housing Laws

    This community acknowledges that their listing does not include any potential violations of the Fair Housing Law, or that they do not provide housing. For any questions about this topic please see our Content Policies and contact FIC with any questions or concerns: directory@ic.org.

    Keywords

    art, contemplation, eco-activism, land-based spirituality, social sculpture