NU´ VEM

Artist residency on the Pico Island – the Azores

About the project

This international residency programme organised by the production company FREESAM is a opportunity with a limited capacity for artistic work in an unique environment. It draws on the founders’ many years of experience of working in the field of culture and the arts. Its main goal is to draw attention to the unique, dramatic, and well-preserved nature of the Azores and make it possible for artists across genres to draw inspiration for their work from the specific atmosphere of Pico Island.

The programme is designed for artists who are at least three years out from a school of arts and who have done at least two solo exhibitions or presentations. The residency consists of a one-month stay at Pico Island, during which a unique work of art will be created that reflects Czech-Portuguese relations, the Azores, and their importance in the international context, or whose contents supports protection of the environment of the Azores. The resident will leave the resulting work to FREESAM, which will then use it to present the Programme in the public space at the project venue.

The residency programme is located in the Terra do Pão village in the south of Pico Island in the Azores. Simple accommodation is provided in a renovated historical mill on a large private property on the shore of the Atlantic and at the foot of the Pico Volcano. An outdoor kitchen and bathrooms are available for residents. For work, there is a separate studio with running water. The property is located in a strictly protected nature reserve.

Given the type of accommodation and the challenging and frequently changing conditions, the Programme is not intended for artists who require a greater level of comfort and extensive production facilities. Improvisation and the ability to adapt are necessary prerequisites for successful completion of a stay.

The residency programme includes:

Simple accommodation in a renovated historic mill.
Round-trip airfare to and from the Azores.
A monthly allowance of EUR 1,000 per person or EUR 1,500 for an artistic couple.
A production budget of EUR 200.
Basic tools and equipment on site.
One paid whale and dolphin-watching trip.
Climb to the volcano.

(Flight times to the Azores may change without notice, due to weather conditions or other objective facts. Furthermore, weather during your stay may not permit the organisation of whale-watching trips or hikes up the volcano.)

Application

The monthly residencies on the Pico island in the Azores will take place between April and June 2025. Organizers will agree on exact dates with the winners of the Open Call. The program is intended for active artists with a degree who are interested in creating in the unique and inspiring environment of the island in the middle of the Atlantic. NU´VEM residential program 2025 is advertised for these artist fields - painting, sculpture, land art.

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Application and selection procedure

The Selection Board reserves the right to reject any project without justifying its decision. The decision of the committee is final and cannot be appealed.
Applications must be submitted electronically via the online form.
The application deadline is February 22, 2025 inclusive. Applications sent after this date will not be accepted for the selection procedure.
Applicants must be available on March 10 in the morning CET for a possible video call.
The results of the Open call will be published no later than March 15, 2025 on www.freesam.org.
Successful applicants will be also informed by e-mail.

Rules and conditions for participation in the residential programme

The residential stay takes place at a strictly protected nature reserve. Participants are accommodated in original, renovated mills, the use of which requires compliance with certain rules.

The resident must have a driver's license due to the remoteness of the place of residence.
The resident must speak English at least at communication leve
The resident must hold at least a basic liability insurance policy
The resident must respect the rules in place due to the nature of the location of the residential programme and the buildings located at it. This concerns in particular the protection of fauna and flora, the protection of works of art by former residents and the protection of FREESAM assets, taking into account the frequently windy and rainy weather on the Pico Island
Residents are not allowed to hold public parties on the property of the residence without prior approval
The resident must follow the safety rules in his own interest.
The resident must respect local customs and not harm the good name of the FREESAM residential programme through inappropriate behaviour

NU´ VEM

NU´ VEM is a private project by FREESAM that is independent of state or local institutions and financed solely from the company’s own resources. The company has been gradually buying up neglected land in Terra do Pão since 2017. In 2019 it completed the renovation of the first mill, with the renovation of the second mill completed in 2021. The demarcated area itself is located in a protected nature reserve and is used as a nesting place for birds.

In addition to protecting Nature, the NU´ VEM project also supports artists from all over the world by giving them the opportunity for short stays for artistic purposes in the inspiring environment of the island of Pico.

The property is not intended for residential, recreational or commercial purposes. The entire area of the project is monitored in order to protect it.

Visits to the facility including residents' artworks are possible following prior arrangements. Please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

History of the residency venue

The properties, now constituting one unit, have been purchased one after another since 2017. The originally impenetrable jungle with two rock bulwarks indicating where original mills were located, were revitalized over the course of five years, with the possibility of further development, while putting an emphasis on environmental protection, above all on bird protection. Both mills have been renovated – Manuel Domingos and Choca. Manuel Domingos served its original purpose until the 1960s.
Mills started to appear in the Azores in the early 20th century, in order to alleviate manual labor in flour production. Most flours were made of maize which, was carried in bags up the stairs to the milling mechanism. The mills had to be able to adapt to the changing direction of the wind in the islands and were consequently built with a mechanism that made it possible to rotate the entire mill in a semicircle of 180°.
The renovated mills at Terra do Pão are cultural monuments.

The Azores

The Portuguese overseas territory was settled by the Portuguese in 1453. The archipelago is comprised of nine inhabited islands. Thanks to the Gulf Stream, the windy subtropical climate does not suffer from great temperature fluctuations. In summer, the temperatures range around 25°C and in winter around 17°C. There are several nature reserves and UNESCO cultural heritage sites on the Azores.

Pico Island

The island – the home of Portugal’s highest mountain – is 40 km long and 15 km wide. World-famous vineyards, an abundance of local produce, from fruit to beef, and a clean ocean with a rich underwater life make it the perfect place to escape reality.