R. Serpa Pinto 55, 2600-263 Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal
Up to 9 in group
August 1 - 4, 2025
About this Retreat
Hello, I'm Valentina! I am a visual artist born in Caracas, Venezuela, shaped by a childhood of wandering through diverse and awe-inspiring landscapes. These early explorations became an enduring source of inspiration, infusing my creative vision with nature's untamed beauty.
My work seeks to unveil strength and grace, reflecting the profound diversity and intricate identities of humanity. Through photography and design, I explore the organic language of the human form, tracing its movement across ancestral echoes, contemporary rhythms, and symbolic narratives.
Hello I'm Stephanie! I’m a movement artist and somatic guide passionate about the intersection of presence, creativity, and play. My path began through dance, but quickly evolved into something wilder, softer, and more intuitive — a lifelong exploration of the body as a site of intelligence, imagination, and healing.
I founded Playful Labs as an experiential global collective — a living laboratory where embodiment meets experimentation. Through improvisation, somatic practices, and collective rituals, I invite others into spaces where movement becomes a language, presence becomes art, and play becomes power.
Details of this retreat
This is not your typical wellness weekend. This is a creative lab.
Over 3 days, we’ll guide you through a full-bodied creative process — starting with movement and somatics to reconnect with your instincts, then flowing into writing and visual storytelling.
We begin with the individual — your truth, your rhythm, your voice —and gradually weave it into the collective.
Together, we’ll co-create a collaborative art piece that captures what we became. It will be photographed and edited on-site, so you walk away with a visual memory of your transformation — raw, real, and uniquely yours.
Facilitated by movement artist Stephanie Lowe and visual storyteller Valentina Álvarez, this retreat blends bodywork, creativity, and community — from the studio to the sea.
This retreat is for you if:
- You feel creatively blocked or stuck in your head
- You want to reconnect with your body as a source of expression
- You crave real, creative community — not just performance
- You long to feel seen — by yourself and by others
- You want to create something that feels meaningful and alive
- You’re curious about what happens when art starts in the body
✨ No experience needed — just your body, your voice, and your curiosity.
Retreat Highlights:
- Embodied Creation
We begin each day in the body — not performing, not working out, but tuning in. Movement becomes a language: improvised, intuitive, raw. We move alone, in pairs, as a collective — dissolving boundaries between self and group, body and emotion, breath and beat.
- Writing the Body
From motion to meaning. After movement, we write — fragments, poems, reflections, raw notes. The writing emerges directly from the body’s memory, not the mind’s agenda. A practice of capturing sensation and translating it into truth.
- Collective Visual Ritual
The heart of the retreat. Together we’ll create a collaborative visual piece — Photographed, guided, and co-edited on site. A living record of our shared pulse. A visual ritual that you can revisit, keep, and carry with you.
- Atlantic Coast Immersion
One full day by the ocean. Rocky cliffs, crashing waves, salt air. You can try surfing, write by the sea, explore the coast, or simply let your body rest in the sun. All transport and seaside picnic included.
- Space for Connection + Stillness
Between practices, there’s space to rest, reflect, and connect — with yourself, with others, with the land. We’ll guide you into secret reading corners, and sun-drenched spots for doing absolutely nothing.
Setting:
Our retreat will take place at Soul Coliving — a cultural hub and creative sanctuary for artists, nomads, and curious souls. Nestled in a charming village just outside the city, Soul offers a unique blend of calm and creative spark. It’s a space where time feels timeless, where connection and personal exploration unfold naturally.
As part of our journey, we’ll spend one full day on the Atlantic coast — a seaside immersion of cliffs, waves, salt air, and rest. You’ll have space to surf, write by the water, or simply let the rhythm of the ocean move through you. This day by the sea becomes part of the larger ritual — a moment to breathe with the land.