Led by Curtis Talwst Santiago with experimental musician Greg Fox.
This course is designed to help painters access a deeper, freer relationship to making – one rooted in the body, sharpened through attention, and strengthened through daily practice. Across two weeks, participants will explore painting as responsive and intuitive, while holding on to both precision and risk. The focus is not on producing a single “right” outcome, but on expanding range: how paintings begin, how they shift, and how they recover when they tighten.
Each morning begins with a short somatic warm-up guided by Curtis and Greg Fox. Using soft drone, minimal rhythm, and frequency-led sound, we’ll create a calm shared environment to arrive fully – breath by breath – before painting. Participants can engage at their own pace (eyes open or closed, humming or simply listening). Over time, we’ll develop a shared tone – a collective frequency we return to each morning as a way of arriving together and building community. The aim is to interrupt autopilot, soften self-consciousness, and enter the work with more presence and openness.
Artists are invited to bring works in progress or begin new paintings. Greg will host a sound studio in a back room for listening and experimentation whenever a reset is needed. After lunch, we reconvene with 30 minutes of music and dancing to wake the body back up and return to the studio with energy. Each day ends with group critiques where participants reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and receive feedback from peers. The goal is to leave with new paintings, expanded tools, and a practice that feels more alive – guided by breath, rhythm, sound, and the confidence to let the unknown in.
key data
- Venue
- Festung Hohensalzburg
- Date
- 3. – 15. 8. 26
- Teaching language
- English
- Participation fee
- 670 Euro (reduced 495 Euro)
- Requirements
- Participation in groups exercises in the morning and afternoon.
- What to bring
- Materials you are familiar with in your practice. All tools one needs to feel comfortable in the studio.
- Maximum number of participants
- 18
- Co-teacher
- Greg Fox
Curtis Talwst Santiago
(b. 1979, Edmonton, Alberta) lives and works in Munich. Early in his practice he studied as an apprentice of Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun. He has exhibited internationally at venues such as The Drawing Center and The New Museum, New York, NY; The Eli and Edythe Broad Museum at Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI; the Institute of Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; The Pérez Art Museum Miami, FL; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada; Osage Gallery, Hong Kong, and various others. His works are in the permanent collections of Lenbachhaus, the National Gallery of Canada, the Kadist Foundation, Studio Museum, Harlem and the Nevada Museum of Art among others.
Santiago was included in the SITE Santa Fe SITELines. 2018 Biennial, Casa Tomada, the inaugural 2019 Toronto Biennial of Art in Toronto, Canada, and featured in the 2018 and 2022 Biennale de Dakar in Senegal.
"My practice combines painting, sculpture, installation, and sound to explore memory, migration, and how personal history connects to wider cultural narratives. I begin with research, writing, and drawing, then develop works through hands-on making—building forms, testing materials, and composing scenes that move between intimacy and public reference. Sound and archival elements often enter as structuring tools, shaping how the work is activated in a space. Each project is built through iteration, moving between idea, object, and environment to invite close attention and reflection."
Website
Exhibitions
Selected solo exhibitions
2025 Offsides, Nir Altman, Munich (DE).
Buttermilk Mood, Hiro Gallery, Tokyo.
2024 A man not in the mood for salsa, Martina Simeti Gallery, Milan (IT).
2023 Artissima, Torino, Nir Altman Gallery, Munich.
Moving through Burning Haze, Cooper Cole Gallery, Toronto (CA).
Joyvasted, Nir Altman, Munich.
Mas a Play, Capsule Gallery Shanghai, Art Brussels, Brussels.
Selected group exhibitions
2025 Deep Color, Halsey McKay Gallery, East Hampton, NY (US).
AGA100: Act 3 Words to Worldmaking, Art Gallery of Alberta, Alberta (CA).
Smaller Objects Larger Pictures, Halsey McKay Gallery, East Hampton, NY.
HOME: A Space of Sharing and Strength, National Art Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.
2024 Drawing Now Art Fair, Paris; Art Basel (HK).
Frieze, Los Angeles, CA (US).
Felix Art Fair, Los Angeles, CA.
V1 Gallery, Copenhagen (DK).
2023 Mickalene Thomas – Portrait of an Unlikely Space, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT (US).
Poetry of the Evident, Galerie Droste, Düsseldorf (DE).
Crafting Resitance, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (US).
Publications
Brown, Kate, "Why Is Small Art So Big Right Now?", in: ArtNet, 22 January 2025.
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/small-art-2599293?amp=1
Demircan, Saim, "Curtis Talwst Santiago’s Sonic Sensibilities", in: frieze, 4 March 2024.
https://www.frieze.com/article/curtis-talwst-santiago-a-man-not-in-the-mood-for-salsa-2024-review
Humber, Larry, "Former Art Gallery of Ontario curator wins Canadian foundation’s curatorial award", in: The Art Newspaper, 31 July 2024.
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/07/31/wanda-nanibush-curtis-talwst-santiago-hnatyshyn-foundation-mid-career-award
Milnes, Daniel, „Curtis Talwst Santiago at Nir Altman“, in: Art Viewer, 16 March 2023.
https://artviewer.org/curtis-talwst-santiago-at-nir-altman/