(Edited for clarity.)

“I write this as I am flying back from Paris, cutting a fine-line to land just in time for the beginning of the XTANT’s leadership program tomorrow.

Yesterday at the beautiful Foundation Cartier building I was in conversation with Spencer Bailey [ Note: A prolific writer and podcast host ]. Invited as part of the HOMO FABER talks by the good folks at the Michelangelo foundation, I got to talk about the subject that most resonates with me right now. Craft in community. 

 There is a whole army of incredibly generous people who are the wind beneath our wings and this small letter is a honest heartfelt thanks to all of them and to you; before I get swept up in the storm that these next twelve days will bring. After which, before I know it, it will all be over and I will start to miss it again. 

Firstly my dear artist girl-gang in Madrid with whom I share my life all year around; who’ve given this nomad a sense of family and home, who lovingly indulge my crazy ideas and compliment them with many of their own. Ana Belen Rodriguez, Ana Lamata, Belen Vega, Alicia Estefania, Emma Cassi, Monika Kaczor, Veronica Cuadrado, Bea Melendez, Agueda, Carmen Melon, Leticia Cavero, and the list goes on and on. They are all the most generous beings making the world more beautiful with their unique talents and are such an inspiration to have around. Do check out their work.

Then Mallorca, which opens its arms and gives us the most spectacular stage. There are so many humans here who believed in the vision of that insistent girl with all those funny hats and did the best they could to help even during the suffocating days of covid.

That list is impossible to put up here but i would be remiss not to mention Pol Taylor, (Architect of our dreams) Pedro Montañer and Mayda (Our generous hosts who open their Palau for us) Philippe Salva & Pedro Monge (Our local PR team), Philip Fimanno (For checking up on me constantly), Kika Coll (My anchor and emergency call) Robert Meeder, (The best ambassador anyone could ask for.) Jaqueline Rosenheart (Who nourishes us with her extraordinary cooking), Katrin Kirk (Our girl scout), Ien Van Wierst, Brenda from Osa mayor, and our darling star Belen Atienza who never stops at any request. I could go on and on but I don’t want to go over the word limit I was set.

Then all the volunteers, over 60 people, who come to the island spending their own money, finding their own way, and work tirelessly from day to day to make this event truly shine. They are our biggest investors and I feel beholden to them to make this project real, human and never a mere business transaction. I have made real friendships with some of them that will last a lifetime and they have brought an electric energy to XTANT that can only be felt when you enter the space we build together. 

Our VIP Patron Pass has made it possible for us to connect with so many unique individuals who can see the value in helping us keep this independent and afloat and flame our ambition to support more and more artists from the global south. 

Our sponsors, who have invested in our vision without asking for even a Logo placement in return. The city of Palma and the island of Mallorca’s governments who we wouldn’t have gotten started without, Estrella Damm who make sure we have all the beer we need, Micheal from Obsolete Mallorca who makes sure we have the right furniture for the palace, Luis De Oliveira from De La Espada who calls months in advance to remind me that I have to send him my plan so he can budget for us, And this year: lov. Foundation who besides creating a gorgeous performance piece with the Artist Orly Anan at the Castel De Bellver will also host a group of extraordinary people they’ve wanted to bring to XTANT to spread the word about all this beauty.