Artist Residency
at Chokechaka
Location & Overview
We welcome emerging, mid-career, and established artists, musicians, curators, scholars, activists, cultural workers, and creatives aged 21 years old and over to join our community and support their work in this inspiring mountain setting.
Nestled in Peru's Sacred Valley of the Incas (Valle Sagrado de los Incas) in the Cusco Region's Calca district, Chokechaka is situated at an elevation of 9,850 ft (3,000m), just 80 minutes from Alejandro Velasco Astete Cusco Airport. Our year-round residency program hosts 1-8 artists for periods of 1-4+ weeks, providing a serene creative environment in the heart of the Peruvian Andes.
Vision & Values
Our residency welcomes emerging, mid-career, and established artists, musicians, curators, scholars, activists, cultural workers, and creatives aged 21 and over. It is intended for those who wish to spend time engaging with the Sacred Valley’s culture, landscape, and history, whether through creative practice, research, or personal exploration.
We support both focused and open-ended residencies. Participants may choose to pursue specific ideas or use their time for exploration, reflection, and research.
We are interested in applicants who approach their practice with openness to new environments and a thoughtful engagement with Andean culture. We value community engagement, shared experiences, and cultural exchange, and encourage residents to explore these connections in ways that feel meaningful to their own work and approach.
Accommodation
The center features four bedrooms accommodating up to eight people. Each bedroom includes:
Private full bathroom with hot shower
Work table
Fresh linens and towels
Common Areas
Our welcoming communal spaces include:
Great room with wood stove
Fully equipped kitchen
Dining area
Living room
Additional shared bathroom
Shared workspace
Dining
Self-catering kitchen facilities with storage space
Complimentary breakfast items, tea, and coffee provided
Optional traditional lunch service available for S/30 ($8) per day -or- $50 per week (reservation required upon arrival).
Outdoor Spaces
The garden offers:
Ceremonial maloca/gazebo under Mountain/Apu Pitisuray
Fire pit
Versatile spaces for outdoor work, performances, and ceremonies
Workspace Options
Communal work tables in the great room
Outdoor maloca/gazebo
Dedicated private studio for painters and artist creating work that allow for messy work. Additional private studio spaces to come. Please stay tuned…
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Arriving at Chokechaka Residency in Huaran, after a beautiful drive from Cusco to the Secret Valley felt like a warm embrace. The safe and quiet, spacious and well-designed house gives options to dive deep into work, where the garden, the sound of the birds, impressive nature in the valley and smell of eucalyptus helps to arrive. It supported my curiosity to discover the rich culture and sights, the ruins of the Inka that are nearby, with taxi or bus. As a female traveler, the residency offers space to charge the batteries and focus at the same time. The team from Chokechaka is there to help in a discreet and wholehearted way, organization and communication is easy, helpful and welcoming, a place to come back to.
Andrea Habith, Dramaturg & Writer
Austria -
Staying at Chokechaka recharged my physical and spiritual batteries. Waking up every morning through large open windows to a view of the peaks Pitusiray and Sawasiray was awe inspiring, I felt like a queen. I spent days just walking in the surrounding countryside of waterfalls, eucalyptus forests and cow fields. It felt like a peaceful, safe haven away from the hustle and bustle of Peruvian cities and towns. Jennifer put me in contact with an amazing guide who organized a trip of a lifetime. We saw Cusco temples, Nazca lines from an aeroplane, ancient mummies still in their open tombs in the desert, staying on an island on the highest lake of the world and so much more.
Helene Williams, artist
United Kingdom -
As an arts resident I was able to focus on a few important projects while visiting local wonders. The space was clean, clear and with no small amount of magic. The sacred valley holds amazing landscapes and the indigenous Runa Culture is visible and present. I was fed well and enjoyed the nearby small cites. I finished a lot of work there and also felt free to explore with such a lovely cocoon of a residency to return to.
Adam Zaretsky, artist
United States