Sangha School of Arts is a rural sanctuary embracing the sacred arts of the ancient and the modern. It is a meeting point between artists, thinkers, makers, local and international communities. The school cultivates a way of learning that unites artistic expression with ecological awareness where creativity, open learning and mindfulness meet. We bring together artists, teachers and seekers to explore the intersection of art, nature and culture, through retreats, residencies and community projects that nourish both individual growth, regeneration and collaboration.
Sangha School of Arts is a space of vitality where artists and visitors can connect with the arts, nature and the environment. It encourages the exploration of music, movement, art and crafts as a daily ritual and evolutionary process within short-stay retreats and residency programmes. Nestled in the beautiful surrounding landscape of Lousã mountains, valleys and rivers, Sangha School of Arts is a place of solace and reflection born out of its environment.
Sangha is both a solace, a sanctuary and a symbol for me. I have thought about my father, my ancestors and how for them possessing land meant that you are taking control of your own future. You’re asking the earth to produce something for you that has value. I realise that I am doing that as an artist, cultivating something that’s made by my own hands, ultimately determining my own value and worth. Our power lies in our work’.
Tunde Jegede
Sangha School of the Arts was born out of a road trip across Portugal when we were looking at potential spaces to set up our own rural music and arts centre as artistic practitioners. We were drawn to the land in the midst of the Lousã Mountains surrounded by native oak trees, rivers, olive groves, stone ruins and an abundance of natural life.
Our vision for Sangha School of Arts is to receive people from all over the world and give opportunities for personal development, cultural exchange, collaboration and connections with the surrounding landscape. We listened to the land, and after a period of immersing ourselves in the space, we wanted to open it up to fellow artists, cultural practitioners and the wider community to benefit from Sangha as a unique haven for creativity. The Sangha School of Arts has a holistic approach that follows the rhythms of nature and exists to creatively restore, inspire and cultivate collaborative relationships with land, sea and sky as well as our shared communities.