Prisma Estúdio Lisboa (Prisma Estudio)
Lisbon, Portugal
Upon arrival, the apartment was incredibly dirty. The sheets were stained, looked like it had mold on it? The towel was damp. The kitchen was not well equipped and had leftover, expired food from past residents. The apartment is also not located on the same street as the studio. To access it you have to go on the back street which is heavily male-populated and dirty - I felt unsafe as a woman. These issues were quickly dismissed by Prisma staff and not taken seriously. The door to my room also had no handle and broke off the hinges during my stay. This situation was responded to quickly, however, I was told the fix was temporary and the staff did not have an extra set of keys to assist properly when I was locked out due to issues with the door after it was fixed. The bathroom also had a leak which lasted for a few days and took a bit longer to solve. The "studio" if you can call it that is really just a storage unit. It is very dark even during the day with stained carpets and the materials that were offered were all unusable. Just scraps from past residents. If you are a serious artist, this is not the space for you. I can understand why locals come as it is a good spot to visit for a few hours but not for a AiR program. We were told that people will do drugs in the garden.. they were very open about admitting this and again dismissing it as not a problem. Since they try and run the program as a flat organization - no hierarchy in who is in charge there was nobody to point to with issues. However, it seems Jonathon the owner of the building must be the overseeing everything? it was all very confusing. He also made comments about keeping the space apolitical which I think is a very dangerous statement to make. He made very weird and uncomfortable comments about being Israeli.. All the residents received different information depending on who they spoke with in the initial interview. Very disorganized / a chaotic mess None of the staff work in the arts they seem to just want to be adjacent to the art world.. so there was no guidance that could really be offered. The best part of the residency was that they took us to other galleries to connect with. If you are interested in coming to Lisbon I would recommend looking into one of those instead as they are real AiR with proper resources (GAAT, Duplex, etc.) Overall, the experience felt like a scam. I am not sure what is going on here but it feels like an untrustworthy place to invest your time or money in to. [The photos attached were taken during the day].
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More reviews of Prisma Estúdio Lisboa (Prisma Estudio)
The apartment they have residents stay at is on an incredibly male-populated street with men flooding the main street at all times. I did not want to walk outside at night and did not feel safe on the street. The organizers flounder and seem to not know what they're doing. It's run by volunteers but that doesn't mean you can charge artists money and then go AWOL. They have random guys come in to give critique on your work which is frankly unwelcome when the work is personal or feminist. It would have been cheaper to rent an apartment for a month and I wish I would have.
Run by volunteers space, they give residents free access and discounts to their music events concerts etc and workshops, nice central location, rooms are big and lots of light. We have a big studio space downstairs and everyone is really nice! Would def come back again if I have the opportunity.
Great experience, perfect place to create and meet other artists.
My experience at Prisma Estúdio was very enriching on a human and artistic level. The residency has a strong sense of community and encourages exchange, conversation, and experimentation, which helped me approach my practice with more freedom and less pressure. Being based in Lisbon also made it easy to connect with a wider cultural scene and meet artists from different backgrounds. The program is quite self-directed, so it works best if you are comfortable managing your own time and expectations. My advice to future residents is to be proactive, participate in events and open studios, and arrive with a clear intention while staying open to where the experience might lead.
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