Our mission is to create spaces where artists and humanists from around the world can develop their work in dialogue with the immensity of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. We serve as a bridge for cultural exchange, facilitating connection with this mega-diverse environment and the ancestral practices of our indigenous cultures to foster collaboration with our local community.

Since 2016, our Artist Residency has welcomed projects that inspire shared platforms and networks across different regions. In 2025, we will open the doors to our Casa de Creación, an Art Space designed by the biodynamic design team at Nido Arquitectura. This space will not only host future residents but also become a gathering place for community engagement centered around creativity and nature.

La Sierra Artist Residency supports initiatives that foster the revitalization of life in all its forms, along with the preservation of the ancestral cultures and traditions deeply rooted in this territory.

Here, the mountains tell stories, animals trace paths of wisdom, and rivers weave all life together.

The foundation was born, rooted, and continues to grow in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, beside the Caribbean Sea in northern Colombia. This is the world’s highest coastal mountain range, where snow-capped peaks rise to 5,700 meters above sea level, just 42 kilometers from the beach. Connecting all the Earth’s ecosystems, this unique place—called the Heart of the World by indigenous communities—embraces páramos, cloud forests, rainforests, dry forests, mangroves, and beaches, offering unparalleled natural and cultural diversity.

The Sierra has been home to one of the most ancient pre-Colombian civilizations, the Tairona, and remains the cradle of four indigenous groups: the Kogi, Wiwa, Arhuaco, and Kankuamo. Known as the Elder Brothers, these communities have lived in harmony with these mountains for millennia. They see the Sierra as the Heart of the World, a sacred center where life, spirituality, and the planet’s balance are maintained.

According to their worldview, the forces of nature, the universe, and humanity are intricately intertwined, and whatever happens in these mountains can be felt across the Earth. Every river, mountain, plant, and animal is sacred, playing a vital role in maintaining harmony.

For this reason, indigenous communities consider themselves guardians of the land, viewing nature as a teacher to be protected and respected. They practice sustainable agriculture, safeguard water, forests, and biodiversity, and co-create with the materials Earth provides. From molding clay ocarinas and weaving maguey and cotton bags to building with bamboo and braiding fique and palm, their living traditions inspire us to rediscover natural materials and their creative potential.