The Villa Lena Foundation is a not for profit organization dedicated to supporting international contemporary artists working in art, music, film, literature, fashion, and other creative disciplines, and fostering opportunities for multi-disciplinary dialogue. The element of collaboration and exchange is one of the founding principles of the Foundation, with the hope that by bringing together different areas of practice, we will generate new creative outlooks, unparalleled research and exciting new impulses. The Foundation works with artists in many ways within the residency programme and beyond, including collaborations with partner organisations in order to create more opportunities for artists from different backgrounds and circumstances to join the programme with support and funding. The Foundation also facilitates family residencies, focusing on parents who are negotiating the work and childcare balance. Other artists contribute in a more formal way through both commissioned projects and as Creative Contributors, who are selected each year to come to Villa Lena to create and run workshops. The varying ways in which creatives and artists can be involved in the programme and work of the Foundation aims to create a rich and diverse experience for everyone involved. Throughout the year the Foundation invites a wider community of curators, art professionals, press, and educators to visit the residency and explore the programme through the Foundation Open Days. The artist residency co-exists on the Villa Lena Estate with the Villa Lena Hotel, restaurant and agricultural domain. The resident artists become part of the community life of the place and are welcomed to participate in the agricultural activities such as the grape harvest for wine, olive harvest for oil, truffle hunting in the autumn, and foraging in the woods for wild delicacies.