Feeling artistically stuck? We may have the cure: Quarantine Events has been building a new culture amongst artists. Their goal? To fundamentally unlock creatives. Each of their self-described “experimental” week-long events has been created to unshackle artists from numerous barriers, with their events continuously evolving and growing as they listen and learn from each experience and feedback: “Every experiment thus far has taught us something new, leading us to steadily tweak the program,” shares Carles Gomila, co-founder and the visionary behind Quarantine Events. At the core, they are here to help creatives unlearn habits and ways of thinking which end up limiting an artist’s ability to be genuine. They offer a safe space, cut off from the rest of the world for one week, in which to tap into ways to create art deeply true to oneself – and for oneself – on a level many artists will benefit from.
Set on the private Lazaretto Island in Menorca, Spain, Quarantine Events has welcomed hundreds of artists from around the world to explore some of the big questions such as: “WHY do I make art?” “How can I overcome artist block, truly?”. Additionally, they have homed in on all-important themes, offering a Muse-Hacking masterclass, intense events to “rebirth” as an artist, and in their upcoming event “STRANGE HEAVEN”, they intend to rewire your perspective completely.
On social media, their posts have caused mixed responses. Some have wondered if Quarantine Events is some sort of cult. Others see an opportunity to grow both personally and within a like-minded community.
We wanted to get back to the basics and see what the mentors themselves had to say, so we asked some of the previous Quarantine mentors one question:
“How did being part of a Quarantine event affect YOU artistically and/or personally?”
MARTIN WITTFOOTH
“To step into Quarantine on the island of Lazaretto is quite literally the act of entering a collective dream: the brainchild of its visionary founder, Carles Gomila, who brought the idea out of surreality to a tangible shared experience. When we dream, we face aspects of ourselves we may have suppressed or pushed off to some other day to deal with; we encounter novelty; the surprising and unexpected; aspects of ourselves that we need to unravel to make room for growth and for nurturing inspiration and the motivation to see that inspiration manifest. I’ve been honoured to land in Quarantine twice before, and each time I’ve seen massive transformations happen for everyone on the island: students and mentors in equal measure, but I’ll speak for myself here.
To say that it’s been a life-changing experience for me actually feels somehow inadequate. All aspects of my life: artistic, personal, even spiritual, have levelled up as a result of being there. What happens on the island is no less than the communal casting of a magic spell, and the island is the container within which that spell is allowed to bloom. I return each time motivated to distil that magic into everything I create, and remember what I brought back each time that I run into the inevitable doubts and challenges that face all artists.”
EMILIO VILLALBA
“My week at Quarantine on Lazaretto Island was nothing short of magical – a rare experience where time expands in the most beautiful way. The daily boat rides became bookends for each day, a warm-up there and reflection back. The island itself – what initially felt foreign – quickly became home. My mentees truly made the experience unforgettable; their eagerness to learn and create was infectious.
Watching everyone’s work and friendships grow exponentially over just seven days felt like witnessing months of artistic evolution condensed into one week. We became a family—students, models, and mentors alike—bonding in a way that felt like the best kind of summer camp for artists. Those relationships and that week on Lazaretto changed something in me as both an artist and teacher.”
ELOY MORALES
“Taking part in Quarantine has been unlike any artistic experience I’ve had before — it overwhelms the senses from the moment you cross the gate of the Lazaretto Island. Thrilling, intense, enigmatic…”
EDWARD POVEY
“This October 2025 will be my third beautiful experience as a mentor at a Quarantine event, and every time I arrive with the commitment to change the lives of the attendees for the better. I never expected that my life would be affected, but in fact it has brought me a new kind of self-honesty, life-purpose and self-worth. It has also changed my motivation in making art, from my previous desire for fame into a new desire: to make only the art that I believe in.
For me, everything is better.”
JEREMY MANN
“Good practice. The benefits of reminding oneself of the true reasons behind our daily choices is of no small consequence to the courage to continue on doing so, seemingly against all odds.
In the womb of Quarantine I heard my own nagging voice insisting incessantly that the apprentice just simply try taking the first step, to invoke that little spark of courage in themselves, and to enjoy the following stumble, trusting in the indisputable fact that taking risks brings experiences we would never otherwise have even known were possible.
The light I saw in their joy, in the intensity of their tears, in the elation of glimpsing the boundless possibilities which only they themselves could achieve, returns to me with every approach of my own doubts, fears, and insecurities, reminding myself of the immense joy which awaits me on my own choked and foggy journey, giving little wings to each trudge along this lonely path.
The results I witnessed them achieve from their trust is a gift I will never surrender.”
NADEZDA
“Two editions of Quarantine I’ve been fortunate to be a part of became vista points of zooming out and reflecting on my creative journey’s milestones. Discoveries and realizations arrive quietly in the studio, remaining a lot of the times in the realm of new unconscious knowledge. Sharing them out loud with like-minded people brought to light how much my inner world has grown and expanded, the new subtle internal flourishes became visible, to myself and others. During the latest edition of Quarantine, I felt a great sense of artistic community, where vulnerability was a superpower for the soul’s flower to grow through the asphalt of our conditioned mundanity we inherit a lot of the times in the outer world.
The island itself has a condensed atmosphere of ephemeral and eternal, where animal skeletons are overgrown with fragrant wild flowers, where the ribs of the old cells sigh with heavy days of the past and singing birds lift them up and transform into a celebration of life. There are poems hidden between the rocks and if we have a Quarantine magnifying glass, one is able to spot and paint them with a brush into the world of form, and then send them burning to the sky, knowing you have found another much needed piece of the map to your true self.”
YUKO SHIMIZU
“Participating artists assume mentors are there to teach them. I did, of course, give my best within what I can. What they don’t know is that mentoring is not just giving; mentees give us so much in return too. We learn so much from having open, deep, honest conversations. They are students, but also, they are teachers to the teachers.
And the fact that I arrived at the island only knowing about two people, and left a week later with a new family of nearly 100 other artists.
A lot of them told me that they went back home newly energized. I did too!”
Be a part of the new wave of thinking. Join their next event – Strange Heaven: October 2025
The upcoming edition of Quarantine, Strange Heaven, will take place from October 20 – 26, 2025, on the secluded Lazaretto Island located in the port of Mahón in Menorca, Spain.
This unique event will gather some 65 artists from around the globe, along with seven esteemed mentors:
JAW Cooper | Vincent Desiderio | Ruprecht von Kaufmann
Laurie Lipton | Edward Povey | Tania Rivilis | Yasha Young
Interested in applying and chatting to one of the Quarantine team to find out more? Now is the time – click the link to learn more and don’t miss out!
Quarantine Social Media Accounts + additional blogs
Website | Instagram | How an Art Retreat Becomes a Social Experiment | Quarantine Events Brutally Honest Oracle
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