What is OUR TextileSeekers Artist RESIDENCE PROGRAMME?

Are you a fresh graduate or a fashion student in your final year in university? Perhaps you are a photographer seeking to travel and access new remote locations, or a brand looking for inspiration?

In TextileSeeker’s bid to promote sustainability in today’s fashion ecosystem, we are offering an exclusive opportunity for you to join our journey.

Our Artist Retreat platform like artist in residence programmes not only aims to guide you through the processes of developing your project, it will also open your eyes to the beauty of sustainable textile practices.

Thao, our founder of TextileSeekers, will also be on-site as chief creative consultant. She will offer her expertise and share her experience in design, as well as facilitate you to bring your vision to life.

Defining the PurposE

The main objective of establishing the Artist Retreat residence programme is to foster professional development and opportunities for both visiting artists and the host community, as well as providing a platform for a creative community to be invigorated through an exchange of ideas and new ways of working.

We hope to cultivate relationships with other artists while raising the profile of local tribes in Vietnam.

We believe artist residencies are vital in giving an aspiring artist the time and space to explore and create from within. Through cultural and artistic exchanges, new ideas are hatched and experimentations can be nurtured. Artist residencies also forge networking opportunities for an artist who is taking his or her first steps into the creative industry. Ultimately such an experience will not only shape one’s work, but also sculpt one’s approach and thinking.

What does the rETREAT offer

This is an 11 day programme consisting of multiple workshops to provide artists with the tools and skills they need to focus on creating or honing their sustainable work.

We will connect you with local communities through our retreat in Mai Chau. You will get to immerse in artisanal workshops as well as learn all about traditional textile-making techniques from the different tribes in the region. From botanical dyeing to hand embroidery, you will step right into a wealth of knowledge that has been passed down through generations.

Forty-one bungalows, suites, and private pool villas, perched on the mountainside overlooking the valley, instill a sense of peacefulness. Each living space opens to a timeless mountain landscape with inviting sights and sounds of nature. Located in Mai Chau, deep in the mountains, we will visit villages inhabited by the Black, White Tay and Black H’mong minority people. We will be connecting with these tribes, and also the other tribes in the region.

We are shaping an atmosphere that is conducive for introspection and inspiration through our stay at a remote lodge. Cocooned in the heart of Mai Chau’s 56,454 hectares of mountains, valleys, forests, rivers, and rice fields provide invigorating opportunities for both adventurers and those looking to unwind in nature. Our lodge is tucked away in the misty mountains, and nestled just beside a running river that cuts through the lush forest. There will be no distraction as you indulge in a sense of peace that declutters the mind and quiets down thoughts.

The Avana Resort is focused on sustainability with over 10 hectares reforested the resorts’ priority is to protect the environment. The waterfalls have been kept in their initial state while streamlets continue to meander their way through the valley. Simple, rustic and staying true to the tribal aesthetics, your stay will unveil the real Mai Chau, as well as become an avenue for you to experience a sustainable way of life not known to many.