Artistic repose and relaxation flourish at the Tuscan home, dedicated to Black queer artists.
Nestled in the serene, forested landscape of Tuscany, the Turchese villa recently played host to a unique week-long retreat for four Black queer artists. This special program, organised by Jordan Anderson, founder of the MQBMBQ residency, departed from the traditional longer residency model, offering a gentle, less pressured experience focused on creativity and rest.
The retreat was intentionally placed outside institutional residencies, allowing the artists to fully inhabit, reshape, and claim the villa as their own. The soundscape of cicadas, rustling trees, and distant bells in Tuscany was seen as a collaborator in the residency, adding an organic rhythm to the creative process.
The artists chosen for the 2025 retreat included Justen Leroy, Precious Okoyomon, YAV, and Elliot Jerome Brown Jr., each bringing distinct practices that resonated uniquely with the villa's peaceful setting. Justen Leroy's exploration of Black sound and sonic environments found a powerful echo in Tuscany, while Precious Okoyomon's practice, with its profound relationship with the natural world, its entanglements with history, time, and race, found a fitting backdrop in the villa's idyllic surroundings.
Elliot's photography practice, which navigates intimacy, fiction, and form, made it a suitable way to document the retreat. His approach to photography was seen as a natural extension of the MQBMBQ retreat, capturing the essence of the artists' experiences and the villa's unique atmosphere.
Yaav's performance within the Turchese villa brought the house to life. Their physical language and ability to interact with architecture added an embodied, responsive layer to the villa, making it a living, breathing part of the artistic process.
The MQBMBQ retreat emphasised the importance of slowing down. The artists were encouraged to balance rest and creative work during the day and share a text or piece of inspiration over dinner each evening. This project, which has been ongoing for over five years, serves as a vital space for Black queer artists to reset and find creative community.
The retreat was part of the MQBMBQ residency’s fifth anniversary, marking a shift towards a gentler, less pressured experience. The traditional four-week program was shortened to a week-long retreat to spark creativity through relaxation, pause, and resetting. The residency has been supported by curatorial collaborators and brands such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Bulgari, and Loro Piana.
This retreat aimed to provide a space where artists could fully inhabit, reshape, and claim as their own, fostering a creative exchange and radical imagination among the participants. It was a rare opportunity for these artists to slow down and simply exist in a world that often demands everything from them. The MQBMBQ retreat in Tuscany stood as a testament to the power of art, community, and the restorative power of a peaceful retreat.
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- The upcoming 2025 retreat, organized by the MQBMBQ residency, promises to be a unique gathering of Black queer artists, offering a chance to immerse in a peaceful lifestyle, reshaping and claiming the villa as their own, just as the fashion-and-beauty industry collaborators such as Jean Paul Gaultier have supported.
- As the artists embark on their creative journey, the idyllic home-and-garden setting of the Turchese villa, with its organic soundscape and entanglements with history, time, and race, serves as a fitting backdrop, much like Precious Okoyomon's practice resonates with the villa's surroundings.
