a catalogue of time + Space

Our Project

Piney Wood Atlas is a collaborative project between citizen artists Alicia Toldi and Carolina Porras and was formed out of a desire to spread the word about the magical world of artist residencies.

Through a series of regional road trips, we travel across the country unearthing small, emerging and unconventional artist residencies. Visiting is essential in absorbing the atmosphere, embedding into the space as if we were residents ourselves. We share meals, conversations and experiences with facilitators and artists. So far, we have visited around 65 free, low-cost, and stipended residencies across 22 states, representing alternative residencies through four regional guidebook publications, online content, and workshops.

Alternative residencies offer individual character, personalized experiences and room to experiment. Featuring these kinds of spaces allows us to connect creative thinkers with places where they can become visionaries, unlocking fresh ideas that only come from being in a new environment, and thus engaging in a symbiotic relationship between the artist, the residency locale and the outside world.

Piney Wood Atlas’ intention is to bridge the gap between residency databases and word-of-mouth, ensuring that attending a residency is an attainable, productive, and fun adventure for all.

Our History

In the summer of 2013, artists Alicia Toldi and Carolina Porras fortuitously met at a small artist residency in rural Colorado. Having just graduated from Connecticut College and University of Florida, respectively, Toldi and Porras were in similar moments of their lives as emerging artists trying to simultaneously figure out their adult identities and artistic practices. They became the closest of friends in three days. Driving back to San Francisco (where Porras lived and Toldi is from) one month later, Porras convinced Toldi to move into her bottom bunk in a Richmond District apartment full of women and cats, and thus began a collaboration that has lasted into the present day.

Piney Wood Atlas emerged through a shared regard for residency programs, artist communities, and road travel. As a traveling collaborative duo, the two have driven tens of thousands of miles during which they have visited over 65 residencies, slept under the stars, eaten sandwiches in isolated hot springs, and catalogued hiking trails and thrift stores of note. Piney Wood Atlas facilitated a panel on residencies in non-urban spaces at a Common Field convening in Philadelphia, and has taught workshops at several universities, including M12 Studio/University of Colorado’s Rural Environments Field School and Sierra Nevada College’s Interdisciplinary Arts MFA Program, from whom they also received the Lupita’s Grant in 2017.