Projects Created at Farm Studio and Testimonials
David Rossiter – Australia
I am a full time artist coming from an idyllic, coastal town in Victoria, Australia. I have travelled a lot over the years but India keeps calling me back. To find out why that is, you have to go there, and to understand why I have just completed a second residency at Farm Studio in two years, you just have to go there. Run by professional artists and surrounded by other artists from around the world, this rural environment shuts out the global noise, stimulates all senses, and allows me to create new ideas, work, and unique stories to return home with.
Carolyn McKay – Australia / Sri Lanka
My time as an artist in residence at Farm Studio gave me the place and the space to ‘just’ be a photographer. With a particular focus on women, I spent a part of each day in the nearby village of Andore, sometimes exploring further afield, to develop my passion for photography as storytelling. It was an honour to create connections with the women I met, and then revisited, recognising them and their lives through photography. With valuable support from Vaga and Monique, along with the delicious food at Farm Studio – I had all I needed! And grateful to share this time with artists of different media – it was inspiring to see how they worked, and what they produced.
Laure Lesage – France
My experience in Farm Studio was pure inspiration and discovery. First time in India and it was a real chance to learn the traditions, meet the people & enjoy local festivals by the side of Monique, Vaga and our wonderful team of worldwide artists. I learned some natural techniques with pigments and pure cotton for canvas thanks to Vaga’s knowledge as a painter, and I could find some beautiful materials in the village nearby. I so much enjoyed living in the nature in the beautiful farm : simpleness of living but also delicious comfort food prepared every day for us. I understand why some artist come back without doubts.. It was really enriching for creation and the end exhibition was a great moment of connection with different mediums representing the colours, the work and the stories of people and India. Thank you for sharing with us this place of peace and connection !
Rósa Sigrún Jónsdóttir – Iceland
India is not always easy, so full of people, colours, contrasts and traffic. But it is a profound experience, at least it was for me, coming from the cold organised North. Farm Studio gave me the guidance and space to work and learn a little about the culture of this vast country. Staying in Delhi and then moving into the beautiful, hot and colourful rural environment of Andore Village in Rasjastan is something every artist should experience! (I was there in October which turns out to be a little bit to hot for me, coming from Iceland. November or even December would be perfect!) I think that my colour palette has changed for good, which was exactly what I was hoping for.
Páll Ásgeir Ásgeirsson – Iceland
I spent almost four weeks at Farm Studio in October 2025. It was an intense experience being immersed in foreign sounds, smells, tastes and weather that was sometimes too hot for someone used to the Arctic.We joined a multinational group of artists that became like a family going through this journey together. Monique and Vaga at Farm Studio are seasoned in running the residence and guided us in matters small and large. I work with text and poetry so I ended up doing life-sized drawing on the roof of Hinge Arts Space gallery with my wife Rosa using the sun as a dial. I also wrote a text on the wall using a mixture of three languages, English, Hindi and Icelandic. Staying at Farm Studio left an indelible mark on my soul and I will carry the sounds and tastes of India with me for the rest of my life.
Ella Potts – UK
Across & Down Across & Down — Is the rhythm of my stitch as I work on a tapestry here at Farm Studio. A needle – the spikes on a plant, the canvas – woven textiles, horses plastered on the Mandawa Haveli’s – take flight into the dusty paths. These quiet mirrored thoughts all played a part in my paint and stitch in a spellbinding way. As natural pigments become the canvas and the threads become the thoughts. My marriage of ideas here became a path through the ecology alike a coiled snake that wove and warped, became muddy and dry. Thank you Rajahstan for gifting me the matter to move my subject matter ever-evolving. At home I will thread my sewing machine and continue the snake / the thread / the chase to shape my work into its final stretched form, to tell my home this story.
Sylvia Lecomte – France
As an emerging multidisciplinary artist working with dance, singing, theatre, and video dance, my work explores our connection to nature, intercultural dialogue, and social issues. I have presented live performances addressing the relationship between nature and culture with a special focus on the interplay between tradition, modernity, and social norms – especially those affecting women. My time at Farm Studio was deeply influenced by readings and research on the position and image of women in Indian society throughout the centuries. I also had the chance to collaborate with Syann, an artist from the residency on an installation-performance – a wonderful opportunity that promises to open many more doors!
Rowena Lloyd Jones – Australia
I’m sure I’m not alone in wishing I had no distractions and my art practice was all I needed to concern myself with. Farm Studio allowed me this glorious, simple space. I could lay in my thatch hut and dream about what I wanted to create tomorrow, and the next day and so on for the entire month of November. My focus during the month was on producing expressive mixed media works that allowed me to embrace my mistakes, explore my mark making, experiment and search for my uniqueness. My practice quickly found me simplifying objects, representing the slow, calm rhythms of life in Andore. The palette I chose sprang from my surroundings as I embraced the colours of my immediate world, the desert and the vibrant people. Having to decide exactly what materials I would bring with me served to create boundaries around what I was producing. I didn’t have fixed expectations about outcomes, so the results have been an unexpected gift that the residency gave me. Monique and Vaga have artist’s eyes, they followed our journeys, and quietly oversaw our path to a group exhibition. The space was ours and they facilitated our ideas. Working with fellow artists to curate our show was a bonding experience. Time spent together discussing our work and art in general was really informative. Seeing bodies of work grow and collaborations flourish was also an experience that the residency created for us and I am grateful for the entire experience.
Sophia Kosel – USA
My time at Farm Studio provided me with the space and time to pursue my artistic practice in a new way. During my time there, I was able to approach painting with patience, an intention to learn rather than produce, and the time to reflect on my practice. Farm Studio emits a safe and peaceful energy that fosters new ways to evolve. I went into this time unsure what to do, being my first month long residency, and came out of it with a new skill set painting landscapes and learning new techniques that I plan on utilizing in my figurative practice in the future.
Carrie Perrault – Canada
During my residency at Farm Studio I settled into the rhythms of village life and formed close relationships with neighbours whose generosity, care, and daily rituals shaped my time there. With Farm Studio’s deep local ties, I was welcomed into homes, shared meals, conversations, and informal social spaces that functioned as vital centres of exchange and care. Rather than focusing on production, the residency became a period of listening, learning, and opening a new chapter of research grounded in curiosity, laughter, friendship, and place-based knowledge. Farm Studio’s guidance, contextual insight, and network-building allowed this learning to take root, situating my experience within a broader cultural and artistic framework. I am deeply grateful to my neighbours, the villagers, and to Monique and Vaga for their brilliant spirits!
Rosie Stanton – Australia
Farm Studio took great care of me in the most charming ways. The early morning moaning cows and blaring milkmen invited me to share in their consistent routine. Directors Vaga and Monique served me wisdom and breakfast daily. My unknown needs were met by the villagers. I have been reminded by them about the healthiness of being needed and needing others. Navigating the postal system and making friends with local children spun me tightly into the web of daily dependence. Every day I met with these people and every day they say to me, “Please come back tomorrow”. The blessings I received from this village and in their time became offerings again include jewellery, foraged berries, pocket lollies, mehndi, an origami rose, chapaati making lessons, hair clips, a handful of cashews, a new doll, fresh pommegranate, roasted peanuts in a plastic bag, an invitation to morning exercise, peacock feathers, fine paint brushes, a note in a handmade box, polaroid photos, pani puri, dahl bahti, an origami love letter, and lessons in Hindi and Marwari! They welcomed me into this network of giving and receiving and I am richer for it. The artwork I displayed in our exhibition at the conclusion of the residency honours these gifts. I illustrated these items and lessons through fine watercolour illustrations and soft sculptural reproductions of the origami blessings. Inspired by the gift of games with my young friends, I also made Hop Scotch offerings for the cows, the ants, and the birds` with temporary charcoal drawings and a suspended fabric installation. Vaga, Monique, Farm Studio, and Andore locals have nourished my heart, my belly, and my mind. I am so grateful, for my art and my heart’s sake. I trust my offerings were received with a similar gratitude.
Katie North – USA
As a multi-disciplinary artist and full-time educator, I’m often making art on a fragmented schedule. The intentionality and generosity of Vaga and Monique provided a much needed respite to stretch the days and become immersed in a project. What developed was an artist’s book with real and imagined painted scenes, motifs, and writing collected during my time at Farm Studio. Elements were pulled from conversations with artists and the community in Andore. My technique is slow and meditative, building up layers of watercolor. This requires both time and patience, which I felt I had an abundance of during this residency. The work created was an honest reflection of being present in this unique place and what a gift it was.
Mikka Chesno – South Africa / Israel
Being at Farm Studio, in nature and far from my usual distractions gave me a drive to create loads of artworks. I am inspired by the wild harmony of animals and people. Monkeys, cows, birds, geckos, goats and people all doing their thing. These creatures , the temple sculptural figures and the village life came into my work. I usually try find away to tell a story about animals and people in an harmonious world while bringing humour, eroticism, beauty and mysticism. This place brought out more imaginative scenes and ideas for my work. I let go a lot about trying to paint a pretty picture and focused more on the story of the interaction of creatures in my work.
Elizabeth Hacken – USA
If you are seeking a symmetry within yourself as a person, artist, animal, and witness this residency is for you. Monique and Vaga have cultivated an alternate environment in constant co-creation with the landscape of the desert. from a piece of sand, to a peacock feather, a bird call, a camel walking by, and a shepherd leading their flock, the conversation between home and habitat stays alive. The land breathes in and out of the living space, and you will undoubtedly take it on and into your work.