Just over a month ago I came home from Argentina brimming with ideas and excitement. In my luggage was a mate gourd, a stone penguin made from Rhodochrosite, and a thousand pages of audio drama.

For a few years now I have been tinkering away at a new audio drama series. Gradually, I’ve built a world, developed characters, and plotted seasons. Now the time had come to write the episodes. But two elements were missing from the mix: Time to write, and a deeper understanding of Argentina and its people.

Why Argentina? Without spoiling anything, suffice to say some of the characters in the show have Argentinian heritage. I know Britain well from having lived there for seven years and from having married a Brit. I know Norway extremely well from being born here and having lived here for most of my life. But I didn’t know Argentina, not at all. Evita, Che Guevara, Maradona, sure. But what’s the Argentinian spirit? What defines the Argentinian people? I had a lot of research to do.

The answer to both my needs came at once when I was granted a four-week writing residency at Residencia Corazón.

Residencia Corazón is an artist house in La Plata, a city an hour outside of Buenos Aires. Artists of all disciplines can apply for a stay there, and both shorter and longer stays are possible. The place is run by Rodrigo Mirto and Juan Pablo Ferrer. Lovelier guys than Rodrigo and Juan Pablo are hard to find. Rodrigo is an artist in his own right, creating wonderful metal creations, and Juan Pablo is a curator and festival producer. Between them they have decades of experience, and they seem to know everyone in La Plata. (I mean, literally: On the day I arrived we randomly walked by a pizza place. I flippantly made a joke about how I knew I’d survive seeing that I could always get a slice of pizza. Juan Pablo spins around, heads into the pizza joint and introduces me to the owner, whom he just happened to know!)

As a resident, Juan Pablo and Rodrigo help curate your stay, depending on your needs as an artist. For me, they organized meetings with academics, artists and literary publishers, people with a knowledge of politics, arts, history, and society, allowing me to gain a deeper understanding of the Argentinian way of thinking and living. They took me to museums and theatres, and they spent many hours with me drinking mate, answering all my random questions. Two highlights were when they took me to a real milonga, a tango dancing evening, and when they lit up the parrilla (Argentinian BBQ) for my birthday party in the back yard!

Juan Pablo giving Oystein a birthday hug. The parrilla in the background and two dulce de leche brithday cakes on the table.

La Plata was a great place to be as well. I could get the train or bus into Buenos Aires, and I went there a handful of times to explore the big city. But it was nice to not be in such a crazy big place, if I had stayed there, I’m sure I would have been a tourist for a month and not written a single word. And La Plata is bustling enough. It’s the regional capital of the county Buenos Aires (which doesn’t include the Argentinian capital of the same name, which is its own region), and as such it’s a city of museums, galleries, theatres, parks, restaurants, cafes, shops, two football stadiums and a beautiful cathedral. It only houses around 700 000 people, and the city center is small enough to be walkable. But watch out, the many broken sidewalks will trip you up!

La Plata seen from the tower of the local cathedral.

It's hard to describe just what a brilliant place Residencia Corazón is. If you are an artist, regardless of your discipline, I would recommend applying for a residency there. It’s as good for artists just starting out as for artists with years of experience. If your project is somehow linked to Argentina, great, but even if you just need time to focus on your own craft for a while, it’s a great place to gather your thoughts, tinker about in the workshop, head out for an artisan coffee at one of the many cafés in La Plata, or stroll around in the local parks eating a delicious chorizo from a street vendor. You’ll be met with curiosity and care, keen interest, and space to yourself. Sometimes there will be other artists there at the same time. The house can fit up to four residents. My stay overlapped with an American artist called Brianna, and we had a great time exploring restaurants in the evening or sharing a coffee break in between her crafting a lamp shade and me figuring out another episode.

To stay at Residencia Corazón there’s a small fee, but it’s a lot cheaper than a hotel, and what you get is so much more than just a room. It’s also access to a workshop, and most important of all, access to Rodrigo and Juan Pablo’s knowledge and support.

Whilst I was there I also found time to make a little artwork. It’s a poem that became a mixed media painting.

Residencia Corazón translates as ‘the heart residency’. It’s a fitting name because it’s a place run with so much love and compassion. At the end of my stay, I had not only done my research and written what I came to write, I had also gained new friends.

If you are interested in applying for a stay at Residencia Corazón check out their website or head to their Instagram for more information. You can also feel free to drop me a line, I’m happy to answer any questions about my stay there.

And if you’re curious about what I was writing… well, you’re just going to have to wait for a bit. If all goes to plan, it will reach your podcatcher at some point in the not-too-distant future!

Øystein, 2025

A penguin made from Rhodocrosite, Argentina’s national rock.

Oystein’s stay in Argentina was made possible by funding from FFLB (the Norwegian Foundation for Sound and Image) and Diversestipend from Statens Kunstnerstipend.

The heart residency