Hidden Orchestra - an Arts & Wellness Retreat

Within each one of us are many voices, many directions that the imagination finds itself being pulled in. When we chase that feeling, letting go of what we expect or what is required, we find interesting threads emerge on our creative journey. Hidden Orchestra: Exploring Parallel Selves is a writing retreat focused on intersections of music, writing, creativity, and the multitude of creative selves within each of us. In this event, participants will discover and explore “heteronyms,” or other authorial voices within themselves with distinct creative personalities. This work will be interspersed with musical meditations, workshops, and craft talks. The writing aspect of the event is inspired by the work of the enigmatic Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa. Pessoa, himself, was many different writers, each with their own biographical background, philosophies, style, and ultimately publications. The distinct personalities of heteronyms like Alberto Caeiro, Álvaro de Campos, Ricardo Reis, and Bernardo Soares achieved literary success beyond that of even Pessoa himself. Likewise, they submitted wildly different public opinions to newspapers and journals, exchanged correspondence, and even developed enmity amongst themselves. The true extent of Pessoa’s internal world of personalities that took on such vivid external expression was not fully understood until many years after his death. These heteronyms, which, at last count, number in the 80s, provide a picture of the internal vibrance of the writer’s mind. Explorers who join us for this retreat will be given an opportunity to explore what voices emerge in their own creative expressions, and to work on deliberately recognizing and engaging those voices to discover unanticipated directions in their creative expressions. We’ll ask what these voices represent, and how they are, in their unique way, telling stories and shaping images. Bernardo Soares, author of The Book of Disquiet, and a Pessoa heteronym, wrote, “My soul is a hidden orchestra; I do not know what instruments, what violins and harps, drums and tambours, sound and clash inside me. I know myself only as a symphony.” Come join us as we explore the space where the inspiration of sound spins the kaleidoscope of our creative spirit into parallel selves.

For agenda details and artist information visit: https://new.express.adobe.com/webpage/ve69WsfJo7VkG

Price is all inclusive (no exceptions): 2 nights accommodation Friday May 3, Saturday May 4 (single rooms), 5 meals (vegan), and access to all workshops.

NO REFUNDS, but tickets are transferable.

Host or Publisher Atlantic Center for the Arts, Inc.