monthly artist residency in the costa rican mountains

Costa Rica Artist Colony is an artist-run residency on a former coffee farm in the mountains of Atenas, Costa Rica. Illustrator Lara Young and her mother, an art metals artist, founded it in 2024 and live onsite. Together they're slowly returning the land to forest.

Up to six artists share two hand-built Mediterranean-style houses with high ceilings, arched windows, and wide views of the Central Valley. Days are quiet and unstructured, so you can work at your own pace in the freestanding studio, in the gazebo, on the patios, or at the desk in your room. Capuchin monkeys, toucans, coatis, and parrots often pass right by.

Once a week, residents open their studios to local artists and neighbors, and we gather for an arts cocktail/mocktail hour. We have close ties to galleries, artists, and cultural organizations in the area, and we share local events so residents always know what's happening. Many residents also explore with our trusted local guide, visiting the nearby vineyard, coffee farms, a wildlife rescue center, and beaches and volcanoes within 1.5 hours.

Stays run from one to five months. The residency suits painters, illustrators, writers, photographers, researchers, and anyone who wants focused time to create in nature, along with the support of a small community that makes settling into a new country easier.