Artist Residencies in Los Santos De Maimona

Why Los Santos de Maimona is on artists’ radar

Los Santos de Maimona is a small town in Badajoz, Extremadura, in southwest Spain. The pull here isn’t a gallery district or a big art market. The draw is space, time, and a focused contemporary art ecosystem that orbits around a few key initiatives.

You get a low-cost, low-distraction environment with a clear emphasis on:

Research-based and conceptual practice
Site-specific and socially engaged work
Curatorial and collaborative projects
Production plus public outcomes (exhibitions, workshops, talks)

The town is compact, walkable, and embedded in a rural landscape. That means slower pace, fewer distractions, and a setting that works well if you’re deep in a project that needs attention more than hype.

Casa MAL: the main contemporary art node

Casa MAL is the clearest, most defined artist-facing space in Los Santos de Maimona. It’s listed as a production and exhibition space at c/ Sevilla 53, right in the center of town.

What Casa MAL actually is

Casa MAL functions as the headquarters of the MAL curatorial platform, which operates like a shared creative office plus public space. Under one roof, you’ll find several interlinked practices:

Vector Creaciones – 3D design and printing studio (Jon Uribarri)
Bernardo Cruz – web designer and photographer
La Sombra Late – publishing and printing workshop (María Pachón)
MAL curatorial platform – directed by Jose Iglesias García-Arenal

The space is described as open to the community and designed for presentations, exhibitions, workshops, and other activities. So you’re stepping into an ecosystem, not just a room with a table.

Residency lines and themes

Casa MAL has developed residency lines that are clearly conceptual and research-heavy, including themes such as:

The horizon of the desert
Biopower, syncretism and utopia during the Jesuit Reductions-Guaranías
Text around “dramatic proposals to assemble and disarm”

These are strong signals. Proposals that respond to landscape, power, history, coloniality, or speculative futures are likely to resonate. The language suggests they’re open to critical, experimental work that doesn’t necessarily fit conventional residency formats.

What Casa MAL can offer your practice

Based on public sources and how the space is structured, you can reasonably expect:

Production support in a context that understands research-led work
Access to tools around printing, small-scale publishing, and possibly digital fabrication
Exhibition or presentation opportunities tied to your residency
Possibilities for workshops or talks if your practice suits public programming
Proximity to photographers, designers, and a curatorial platform under the same umbrella

Casa MAL is not framed as a classic “campus” with many studios and a big cohort. Think of it as an experimental production house that can plug your project into publishing, curatorial reflection, and community engagement.

Who Casa MAL suits best

You’ll be most at home here if you’re into:

Research-based practice (theory-linked, archival, landscape, political, or social inquiry)
Publishing, zines, and artist books
3D design, digital fabrication, or installation that can work in modest-scale spaces
Photography and web-based work, especially if you value in-house collaborators
Curatorial and critical projects where dialogue is as important as output

If you need a large private studio with heavy-duty equipment or a big peer cohort, this may feel too compact. If you like conceptual depth and cross-disciplinary exchange, it’s very aligned.

Sala Guirigai and performance-focused work

Los Santos de Maimona also surfaces in project documentation linked to Sala Guirigai, a cultural space with roots in theater and performance. An example is María Alcaide’s project mudanza, which mentions being a “Residente de Sala Guirigai” between Los Santos de Maimona and Barcelona.

What you can infer about Residencias de Sala Guirigai

Even without a detailed residency page, available references suggest that Sala Guirigai has:

Hosted residency processes for artists
Supported projects that unfold across locations
A strong link to theater, performance, and interdisciplinary work

The context seems oriented toward artists who develop performative, staged, or time-based projects that may involve travel, research, or collaboration beyond a single venue.

Who Sala Guirigai is likely to fit

This is a good direction if you are:

Performance or theater-based
Working with expanded dramaturgy, lecture-performance, or socially engaged performance
Interested in process-heavy projects that benefit from rehearsal time and long-term thinking

If this resonates, the next step is to check Sala Guirigai’s current programming directly and ask how residencies or development periods are structured now, since the documented example dates back several years.

Regional context: other collaborative models nearby

In the broader region you’ll also find initiatives like Casa de Harina / PRG-RES & RES.ART, which work with collaborative research and residency structures. These may not be in Los Santos de Maimona itself but show that Extremadura has a wider ecosystem of experimental, research-focused projects.

If you’re already planning a trip for Casa MAL or Sala Guirigai, it’s worth mapping neighboring towns and seeing if any regional residency or research platforms align with your work. Sometimes a single trip can fold in studio time, field research, and a short visit to another initiative.

Where you’ll actually be working and living

Los Santos de Maimona is small, so thinking in “neighborhoods” is less useful than in a big city. The key reference point is:

The town center / c/ Sevilla area – this is where Casa MAL is based and where you’ll likely spend most of your time.

Your priorities when choosing where to stay:

Being within walking distance of your residency venue
Quick access to groceries, cafés, pharmacies, and simple hardware stores
Reasonable quiet if you’re working from home as well as in the residency

Expect a rhythm based on studio or project time during the day, with local errands and maybe one or two favored cafés or bars that become your regular spots.

Cost of living and working

Compared to Madrid, Barcelona, or large coastal cities, Los Santos de Maimona is significantly more affordable. As an artist, you can expect:

Lower housing costs (especially if the residency doesn’t include accommodation and you rent locally)
Cheap groceries and everyday expenses
Limited but sufficient services: you’ll find basics, not a full spectrum of specialist suppliers

Where you’ll want to get clarity from the residency:

Is accommodation included or do you cover it?
Is there a stipend, fee, or production budget?
Do they offer local transport support for research trips?
What equipment and materials are already available on site?

Because most of this isn’t standardized publicly, treat your initial email exchange as part of your pre-production process. Ask specific questions so you can budget realistically.

Studios, tools, and how to present your work

Local art infrastructure is concentrated in a few spaces rather than a wide gallery network, so the main points for you are:

Casa MAL as a hub for production, exhibitions, and workshops
Possible collaborations or presentations with Sala Guirigai if your work is performance-oriented
Potential to organize pop-up shows, talks, or screenings in collaboration with the residency hosts

Because the context is project-driven, you may want to:

Bring portable equipment you rely on (drawing tools, small electronics, audio recorders, laptops, cameras)
Prepare for lightweight production rather than heavy fabrication, unless you’ve confirmed resources
Think of your final outcome as flexible: a talk, reading, workshop, temporary install, or publication, not just a “white cube” exhibition

Getting there and moving around

Los Santos de Maimona sits in inland Extremadura, so travel usually happens in stages. A common pattern is:

Fly or take long-distance rail to a larger city like Madrid, Seville, Badajoz, or Mérida
Then bus or car to Los Santos de Maimona

Things to keep in mind:

If you’re transporting equipment, sculptures, or installation materials, renting a car can be a big advantage.
Public transport in rural areas can be infrequent, so plan arrival and departure around bus timetables.
If site visits are part of your work (landscape, neighboring towns), build transit time into your schedule.

For the most accurate routes, check current connections from your arrival city, and ask the residency contact for local advice—they usually know the simplest route in.

Visas and paperwork for international artists

If you’re coming from outside the EU/EEA/Switzerland, you’ll need to match your stay length with the right type of entry:

Short stays (up to 90 days) usually fall under Schengen short-stay rules.
Longer stays may require a Spanish national visa or other long-stay authorization.

Residencies often help by issuing:

An invitation letter
Proof of accommodation for the residency period
Confirmation of any stipend or funding
A brief statement of purpose for your stay

Ask explicitly what they can provide in writing. If you’re an EU/EEA artist, you generally have more freedom of movement, but for longer stays it’s still smart to check any registration or health insurance requirements.

When to go and how to time your project

Extremadura can get very hot in summer, especially inland. For concentrated studio or research time, many artists prefer:

Spring – comfortable weather, good for both indoor work and field research
Autumn – milder temperatures, generally more pleasant for moving around town

Summer can work if you plan your schedule around heat (early mornings and late evenings for movement, afternoons for indoor work). Winters are quieter but workable, with cooler nights.

On the application side, Casa MAL’s thematic lines suggest that calls may be conceptually focused. Strong proposals will usually:

Connect your project directly to the announced theme
Explain how you’d use their specific resources (printing, curatorial context, community access)
Outline a possible public outcome that fits the local scale

Local art community and how to plug in

Because Los Santos de Maimona is small, every active initiative matters. You’re not one artist in a huge crowd; you’re visible.

Casa MAL as a community hub

Casa MAL is explicitly positioned as open to the community, with presentations, exhibitions, and workshops. That likely means:

Artist talks and small public events
Workshops with local participants
Openings and project outcomes where you can meet local cultural workers

If you want to engage locally, consider proposing:

A reading group or discussion related to your research
A short skill-share workshop (zine-making, documentation, sound recording, etc.)
An open studio or in-progress presentation instead of waiting for a polished final show

Other cultural signals

Projects like mudanza and references to Sala Guirigai show that Los Santos de Maimona has already hosted experimental and performance-oriented work, often linked to broader Spanish and European circuits.

This is helpful context if you’re building a longer arc: you can position Los Santos de Maimona as one chapter in a multi-site project, not a standalone, isolated experience.

Is Los Santos de Maimona a good fit for you?

Residencies here tend to suit artists who are:

Working research-first rather than production-at-all-costs
Interested in rural context, territory, and slower rhythms
Comfortable in a small town with limited nightlife and no big art market
Keen on collaborative, cross-disciplinary environments
Happy to translate their work into talks, workshops, or small-scale exhibitions

It might not be ideal if you’re seeking:

A large international cohort with constant peer events
A residency mainly about networking with collectors or galleries
Heavy fabrication facilities like big metal, massive woodshops, or industrial-scale printing

If what you want is time, critical conversation, and the chance to embed your work in a specific place with strong curatorial support, Los Santos de Maimona is a solid candidate to put on your residency map.