What is Meristem Artists?

Meristem Artists is a community, founded by Camila Agosto in 2020, working to support artists across a variety of disciplines. Together we create a welcoming, supportive, and trustworthy atmosphere in which to connect, learn, share, and work. Through our retreat and community events we engage in open discussions, artist talks, yoga and meditation classes, and activities that energize the mind, body and soul. These holistic activities give us the opportunity to discover what speaks to us in life.

Meristem has provided a beautiful support system for me and an inspiring place for introspection. I am grateful for the ways in which we can exchange ideas with one another, including thoughts and feelings around our own wellbeing, our creative aspirations and our personal growth. Embracing self care within this community is so freeing. Meristem has illuminated ways for me to discover my creative flow-state and self-motivation.
— Raquel Acevedo Klein, Conductor, Vocalist, Visual Artist

Our Ethos

We are each committed to maintaining this community space from the perspective of a mutual-aid mindset in which each member of the community is actively engaged and participating in its growth and development. There is not one person who is valued over another, nor one person who is the "leader" and the others the "followers". As one of our core members has said in the past, this is "a space that doesn't force us to lose energy working against societal presets or power dynamics. It is a haven for artists to share values, intimate expression, and facets of their being as humans and artists without fear of judgement or exploitation." This is a non-commercial space in which we are not boxed into societal norms or constructs, identity labels, or other things that we have to deal with on a daily basis. This is a space where you have value just for being present, for who you are, and not what you do. It is a space where each member is allowed to define themselves or choose to live without definitions, not for the sake of any "brand" but for the sake of just being who you truly are. Most importantly, this is a voluntary space in which each member chooses to be present, engaged and honor our pledge in how we choose to use this space and how we agree to treat ourselves and each other.

At this time, Meristem Artists is in a season of rest and currently focusing on nourishing our current garden and creating regenerative and restorative spaces through conversations, collaborations and other community activities.

The artist retreat was a wonderful way to meet new artists and friends who inspired me with their spirit and ideas on meditation, their art/work, their approaches to life, and more. I always looked forward to the deeper discussions as well as the times we could all just gather together online and play a board game. I look forward to any future iterations of the retreat and the potential for some really important communal support and work that can happen!
—Audrey Chen, Cellist

Past Retreat Offerings:

The Meristem Artist Retreat is a virtual space for artists to gather and collectively grow. This retreat is unique because it allows artists to participate flexibly and from home, it focuses on developing wellness practices in conjunction with creative practices, and it encourages solo work and mutual support in the same virtual space. Our mission is to instill artists with experiences and practices that promote wellness within their artistic lives by offering classes, activities, and discussions centered around wellbeing. We aim to counteract the trope that artists need to suffer to create great art, instead facilitating each artist's process of discovering what they can do when they feel wholly balanced, nourished, rested, and healthful. We offer a variety of sessions to cultivate positive community building and personal exploration as artists develop healthy mindsets and habits to integrate within their creative practices.

• Group Yoga and Meditation Classes
• Taking Yoga off the Mat, Community Discussions
• Group Coaching Sessions
• Connected Working Sessions: virtual collaborative and co-working spaces
• Tea Times, Artist Shares & Studio Classes

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It was a pleasure to be part of the Meristem Artist Retreat. Participants were offered to provide input and shape the weekly plan together. It was especially helpful to be part of this community during isolation caused by the pandemic. My favorite activities were yoga sessions, which I had practiced before but never had such an attentive teacher as Camila, who not only engaged with us in matters of body but also spiritual health and mindfulness. My overall experience was that of meeting new people, finding common interests and learning new things, while surrounded by a friendly and safe environment.
—Nina Fukuoka, Composer

Mindful Materials

I am working on compiling a collection of materials from my experiences leading the Meristem Artist Retreat and other wellness sessions at Columbia University and during the Ensemble Evolution summer music program. These materials will be gathered in a shared library of sorts, free for all to access and use.

More to come soon!