A global community where Creativity is a Spiritual Practice

At Burning Man, Suiko (then Betsy) McCall and Christopher Fülling ask a bold question: what if contemporary artists lived in an ancient monastery and integrated spiritual practice into their creative process? The Art Monastery is born as a vision.

With no savings, no Italian language skills, and no contacts, Suiko and Christopher relocate to Calvi dell'Umbria, a medieval town of 1,200 people. They form a trade agreement with the municipality to produce cultural events in exchange for living in the monastery. Art Monastery Italia is officially established as a nonprofit.

Suiko and Christopher marry in the monastery's cloister, treating the wedding as Art Monastery Italia’s opening ceremony. A small team of artists works tirelessly to transform the space into an international arts production center. The first artist residencies, site-specific performances, and speaker series take shape.

The Art Monastery relocates to San Antonio Monastery in the tiny town of Labro (population 35). The community experiments further with monastic practice, incorporating daily Gregorian chants. During the summer, the artist residency swells to 25 residents—nearly doubling the town’s population.

Christopher and Suiko part ways, with Christopher shifting focus to The Alchemy program in California while Suiko continues in Italy. Liz Maxwell becomes Artistic Director and inaugurates the Art Monastic Summer Lab and the community takes vows of Gratitude, Resourcefulness, and Fidelity. A €150,000 European collaboration grant fuels future projects.

During a residency in Lecce, the Art Monastery produces an experimental music film, co-creates a Changemaker Festival in Sweden, and publishes Hosting Transformation: Stories from the Edge of Changemaking. Suiko steps away from the Art Monastery and moves to Green Gulch Farm Zen Center in California to deepen her Zen Buddhist practice.

A new chapter begins as Art Monastery Italia moves to Caramanico, Abruzzo, under the leadership of Neva Cockrell and Raphael Sacks. Their dance-theater production, Prime, tours 40 performances across nine cities in Europe and the Middle East.

Suiko rejoins the Art Monastery, balancing time between the Zen monastery in California and the Art Monastery in Italy. The community formalizes The Way of the Artmonk, integrating creative practice and spiritual exploration in new ways.

The Art Monastery hosts its first U.S.-based Art Monastic Laboratory on a 7-acre farm in Vermont. Retreats and workshops expand across Vermont, California, Italy, Poland, and Germany. A €215,000 European grant funds Hosting Eco-Social Innovation, supporting deeper artistic and ecological exploration.

With global shutdowns, the Art Monastery pivots to online retreats, weekly meditation groups, and embodiment classes. Freed from managing a residential program, the community shifts toward long-term stability. A €450,000 European grant supports Hosting Empowerment, a three-year collaboration focused on empowering marginalized communities.

Neva and Raphael depart to start Wildheart, a performance art center. Suiko and Qayyum relocate to a permaculture farm in Hawai’i, shifting the Art Monastery’s focus from physical spaces to liberating creative expression through programs, both online and in person. Two books are published: "Empowerment: A Guide for Facilitators" and "Live Your Power: Become Who You Are"

Suiko and Qayyum return to San Francisco, where the Art Monastery first took shape. The focus sharpens on in-person and online programs, and a fresh new brand identity is launched to honor the profound evolution of the past 17 years.