
Earthwise Residency
Earthwise Residency has grown out of the Aarhus-based theatre company Secret Hotel’s work. Secret Hotel creates participatory events and performances which are sensorial and at the same time intellectually stimulating. The work seeks to heighten the human awareness of our surroundings and our relations with the more-than-human. Works of Secret Hotel range from site-specific events and performance lectures to a walk in a landscape. Central is the collaboration with the more-than-human and viewing the audience as our ‘guests’ and as co-creators.
Secret Hotel was founded in 1999 by director and dramaturg Christine Fentz and dramaturg Synne Behrndt with the aim of creating a forum for diverse artistic investigations and meetings. Today Secret Hotel is run by Christine.
They have a caring, thoughtful and holistic approach in their work, and they believe that all living things are interconnected and have equal rights on this planet. They strive to avoid using the word “nature” in their communication about Earthwise because this word implies a separation between what is human and what is not.
They support artistic and scientific work with the same point of departure as ours. While Earthwise has roots in the performing arts and the work of Secret Hotel, they are open to all kinds of expressions and approaches as long as these connect with our values and seek to be a catalyst for reflection and change.
The holistic care-concept extends to their approach to food, travel and maintenance. They encourage guests to eat organic, local and seasonal food while staying here. They do not accept industrially produced meat (not even organic), but when meat is asked for, they can provide locally farmed meat. They ask the guests to travel slowly, and to care for the buildings by reusing and recycling and seek the most sustainable solutions in all aspects of maintenance.
The ancient, indigenous rule of not harvesting more than you need – or indeed, not more than what is given to you – is central to their ethos and activities. Their values are embedded in their daily practices, yet they keep it light and leave space for differences of opinions and approaches.
At the farm, you will find a small studio space, a piano, and a library of Anthropocene and spiritual literature.
Earthwise Residency has grown out of the Aarhus-based theatre company Secret Hotel’s work. Secret Hotel creates participatory events and performances which are sensorial and at the same time intellectually stimulating. The work seeks to heighten the human awareness of our surroundings and our relations with the more-than-human. Works of Secret Hotel range from site-specific events and performance lectures to a walk in a landscape. Central is the collaboration with the more-than-human and viewing the audience as our ‘guests’ and as co-creators.
The residence house is a Friis & Moltke house with a thatched roof, located without neighbours at the top of a hill with a sea view. There are five guestrooms, four worktables, a kitchen with dining table, a living room and a kitchenette. There is space for 10-12 people, and internet access.
In addition to the residency house, Earthwise has an atelier flat in the old farmhouse.
You find Earthwise in the middle of Mols Bjerge National Park. Here are singing birds and buzzing insects, and during winter the quietness of rain and perhaps – but rarely – snow. The area is unique with its many hills, surrounded by ocean, shaped during the last ice age 10.000 years ago. Earthwise Residency is comprised of two properties and 13 hectares of land: a farm from the 18th century and a house from 1963.
Of the big, protected area Mols Bjerge, they take care of 13 hectares of land. On this land you will find wood land, hills worthy to be called ‘mountains’, horses, campfire sites, a sauna and a permaculture garden. And not least, Earthwise is located in a tiny village of seven houses and families with children.
From Earthwise Residency there is 1 km to the sea, less than 6 kilometres to a small grocery store, 12 km to a big supermarket in a small trade and culture town. They have several bikes and they can help bring the food by car.