That's right . . . We're making it official and incorporating as a 501(c)(3) !

Holes in the Wall Collective's first annual Board Retreat will take place at the Omega Institute's Strengthening Communities Summit -  our first awarded grant, and retreat.

Woot woot !

Here we will strengthen our pithy elevator pitch, root into our mission, work on governance and play a bit inbetween.  Check out our board on our get to know us page.  We're stoked.

Inviting Writers -  Julia Perch,  Berry Grass,   Laura Kochman,  and Emma Eisenberg

This summer, Holes in the Wall Collective is offering space for writers to host an intimate retreat/workshop/salon/book club out in the countryside.

With ample spaces to work and gather outside and in, retreats at the Holes in the Wall Collective Cabin gives participants full access to the cabin, kitchen, living room and screened-in porch in addition to the grounds, facilities and converted barn for workshopping, gathering, movement and art-making. Resting on 29 acres of woods, fields, a pond, pool. We support writers in making a lovely weekend getaway - not designed to drain the piggy banks. Meals can be added in, made fresh from our Tiny-Farm/Big-Garden, but this is not required.  

A great way for writers to throw their first retreat or workshop - an intimate weekend with 4-6 people.

More info HERE.  CONTACT US if you are interested in hosting a retreat/workshop or something else (!) in the future.

Join Elyce Semenec for her second annual Summer Wellness Retreat on the Art in the Fields Property in New Jerusalem, PA. 

Relax in 29-acres of oxygen rich summer foliage, away from the hustle and bustle of your everyday life.  Restore and rejuvenate your body, mind and spirit with daily yoga in a huge barn with skylights. Refresh your senses during the morning walking meditation around the acre wide pond. Nourish your belly and body with catered organic, vegetarian meals. 

There will be an evening bonfire and the Hawaiian Ho'oponopono ritual of reconciliation and forgiveness (to clear out negativity and put things right in our relationships with others). Dhira & Julia, of Holes in the Wall Collective, will lead a guided botanical tour of the fields followed by an elixir-making class and Craft Cocktails. You can swim in the pool or share with the wildlife in the acre-wide pond. If you choose to explore the area, there are local activities such as Crystal Cave, the covered bridges of PA, or a giant famous flea market and swap meet. Kutztown is easy to travel to from NYC, either by car or by bus from Port Authority, NYC.

MORE INFO HERE.

Come work on your work - solo or with collaborators.  Creatives across disciplines welcome.  An affordable chance to get away from your daily grind and carve out a slice of time for you.  Shared and individual space for productivity, reflection and work.

Each participant will have a private room with work space, use of kitchen and access to 29 acres for walks and reflection.  $45/night, two night minimum.

We live in intense times. With the rapidly evolving state of the world, we can become overwhelmed by the amount of information and the stress of navigating it all. 

Come fully unplug and de-stress with soothing techniques for the nervous system, including restorative yoga, breath work, meditation, self-hypnosis instruction and playful connection. 

Every day there will be in-depth experience of these practices, as well as guided sessions to reflect how they can become a part of your daily life.  With time to enjoy walking, reflection, and connecting with others.

This is a weekend of digital detoxification.  You will be asked to hand over your devices for the entirety of the weekend-this is an integral part of the process!

Includes lodging, facilitation and breakfast.  More info HERE.

You have a true story to tell, but how do you sift through all of the details, facts, and information to find the beating heart of your narrative? The art of memoir is often an exhausting and solitary task, so our retreat will bring together a group of like-minded writers for a weekend of writing, reading, and community.

Mornings will be spent studying key passages from both conventional and unconventional memoirs to find various examples of successful narrative structures, widening our understanding of the form. We will discuss these passages in detail and generate our own work through targeted exercises and prompts. Afternoons will be focused on workshopping prepared manuscript pages. Evenings will be devoted to readings and, of course, dinner, though you’re free to slink off at any point to work on more writing.

Come enjoy the first awakenings of spring on our 29 acres, relax by the fire with a new community of talented writers and carve time to dive into your work- the story that only you can tell.  Breakfast and lunch will be provided by Holes in the Wall, all vegan and vegetarian, with dinner provided the first evening.

Includes lodging, workshop, breakfast and lunch + dinner on the first night. More info HERE.

Come work on your work - solo or with collaborators.  Creatives across disciplines welcome.  An affordable chance to get away from your daily grind and carve out a slice of time for you.  Shared and individual space for productivity, reflection and work.

Each participant will have a private room with work space, use of kitchen and access to 29 acres for walks and reflection.  $45/night, two night minimum

Oil drives us.  Water makes us.  There’s no way getting around the importance of the two.  And that they don’t mix.  Let’s study together the long history of our petroleum based economy, the current administration, issues of sustainability and a little Upton Sinclair.  Each day will begin with a coffee jumpstart and include an optional teatime roundtable discussion,  leaving ample time for personal work and reflection.  Come as an expert or a novice- to learn independently or to delve into a research project/ writing assignment.

What doesn’t mix.  Disparate politics.  The past and future economies.  Liquid money vs. liquid life.  Energy.  Espresso.  The Chevron Effect.  The Fracking question.  Standing Rock.

Everyone will be asked to bring one thing to the table to further the conversation- a piece of media, article, excerpt of book, personal work or activity related to the subject.  A week long salon.

Each participant will have a private room with work space, use of kitchen and access to 29 acres for walks and reflection.  Includes daily breakfast with Irving Farm coffee, assorted teas, house muesli, breads, butter & jam.  $350.

photo credit: grist.org

Come work on your work - solo or with collaborators.  Creatives across disciplines welcome.  An affordable chance to get away from your daily grind and carve out a slice of time for you.  Shared and individual space for productivity, reflection and work.

Each participant will have a private room with work space, use of kitchen and access to 29 acres for walks and reflection.  $200-$285

The pulse.  The ebb and flow.  Grassroots and tree roots.  Sewers and subways.  The ideas that remain/ the enduring themes beneath the changing fashions.   As a Trump presidency looms, fear and fascism are coming out of the woodwork. But so is the bedrock of collective action, solidarity and the reckoning of true US histories.  Join us for this residency session on our social undercurrents. 

Frame Work weeks begin with a group dinner provided by Holes in the Wall and end with a group sharing of the week’s reflections and/or work.  Each participant will have a private room with work space, use of kitchen and access to 29 acres for walks and reflection.  $250

photo credit: versoPRINTS

In the false political narrative to “Make America Great, aka: White Again-,” we discuss the untold histories of how America has been made, created and defined, through the lens of the indigenous, black, Chicana/o, Chinese, and woman narratives. 

Each day will begin with a coffee jumpstart and include an optional teatime roundtable discussion, leaving ample time for personal work and reflection. Come as an expert or a novice- to learn independently or to delve into a research project/ writing assignment.
Everyone will be asked to bring one thing to the table to further the conversation- a piece of media, article, excerpt of book, personal work or activity related to the subject. Each participant will have a private room and workspace and access to 29 acres to walk and reflect.

HWC very partial recommended reading: The Souls of Black Folks - WEB Dubois; Between the World & Me - Tahesi Coates; An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States and All the Real Indians Died Off: And 20 Other Myths About Native Americans - Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Dina Gilio-Whitaker; A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America - Ronald Takaki; The Chinese in America - Iris Chang; People’s History of the United States - Howard Zinn; East of Eden - John Steinbeck; A History of Women in America - Carol Hymowitz and Michaele Weissman; Dancing at the Edge of the World: Thoughts on Words, Women, Places Ursula K. Le Guin.

Each participant will have a private room with work space, use of kitchen and access to 29 acres for walks and reflection.   Includes daily breakfast with Irving Farm coffee, assorted teas, house muesli, breads, butter & jam.  $200

photo credit: Catherine Grau