lov.YATRA
partnership
organization:
Shenkar College
vision:
Alexandra Seaman
Kavita Parmar
partner:
XTANT
photography:
Justine Rubineau,
Vilma Aliukonyte
text:
Afrodet Zuri
An invitation to discover Mallorca's cultural landscape through art, heritage, craftsmanship, and direct engagement with local communities.
Derived from the Sanskrit word yatra, meaning a journey or pilgrimage undertaken with purpose, lov.YATRA was conceived as an invitation to learn through direct encounter with art, culture, craftsmanship, heritage, and place.
Created by LOV. Foundation in partnership with XTANT, the inaugural lov.YATRA brought together a group of artists, cultural leaders, and changemakers for an immersive exploration of Mallorca's living cultural landscape. Through rare access to significant cultural institutions, artists' studios, historic sites, regenerative agricultural estates, and hands-on workshops led by artisans, participants experienced the island through the people, traditions, and practices that continue to shape its cultural identity.
XTANT Nomad 2026
At the heart of the journey was participation in the opening of XTANT Nomad, where guests joined an international community of artists, makers, collectors, scholars, and cultural practitioners dedicated to textile culture and contemporary craft. The gathering reflected XTANT's commitment to safeguarding textile knowledge while creating new pathways for cultural exchange across generations and geographies.
Participants were welcomed into some of Mallorca's most significant cultural landmarks. A private visit to the Fundació Pilar i Joan Miró offered insight into the life and work of Joan Miró through access to his studios, archives, sculpture garden, and creative environments. A behind-the-scenes exploration of La Seu, the Cathedral of Mallorca, revealed hidden spaces beyond the public route, providing a deeper appreciation of one of the Mediterranean's most extraordinary Gothic monuments.
Photo: Justine Rubineau
The group was also received at Can Vivot by Dr. Pedro de Montaner, Doctor of Geography and History and Count of Zavellá. Guided through the family's 14th-century palacio, participants gained a rare perspective on Mallorca's cultural history through a residence that has remained under the stewardship of the same family for twenty-one generations. Through stories of lineage, architecture, and preservation, the visit illuminated how cultural memory is carried across centuries.
The journey extended into the landscapes of the Serra de Tramuntana through a gathering at Son Moragues, a historic estate recognised within Mallorca's UNESCO World Heritage landscape. Surrounded by ancient olive groves, orchards, and forested hillsides, participants explored the relationship between land stewardship, regenerative agriculture, cultural memory, and the future of sustainable production.
Participants were based at Convent de la Missió, part of the Torre de Canyamel Group, whose longstanding commitment to preserving Mallorca's architectural, agricultural, and cultural heritage reflects many of the values explored throughout the journey. The group's work across the island provided an additional example of how heritage can be thoughtfully sustained and carried forward into the present.
Through historic places and regenerative practices, the journey revealed how heritage can be preserved while remaining deeply relevant to the present.
Son Morague | Photo: Justine Rubineau
Left photo: Justine Rubineau
Right photo: Vilma Aliukonyte
Photo: Justine Rubineau
Food and wine served as another lens through which to understand the island. At Brut Restaurant, Chef Eduardo Martínez-Gil shared his distinctive approach to Mediterranean cuisine, drawing upon seasonal ingredients, fermentation, and a deep respect for local ecosystems. Participants also explored Mallorca's emerging wine culture with Lukas Lundgren, founder of Bar LaSang, whose work has helped champion the island's most compelling natural wines and independent producers.
Exploring Mallorca Through Creativity
Throughout the journey, curated visits to private studios, ateliers, and galleries, together with hands-on workshops led by artisans, created opportunities for direct dialogue, learning, and exchange. These encounters offered insight into creative processes, material traditions, and contemporary practices while highlighting the dynamic relationship between Mallorca's artistic present and its cultural inheritance.
lov.YATRA embodied LOV. Foundation's belief that meaningful encounters with art, culture, and heritage can expand how we understand ourselves, one another, and the world around us. By bringing together diverse perspectives within spaces of beauty, creativity, and shared learning, the journey reflected our belief that meaningful connection can deepen our relationship to one another, to place, and to the world we share.
Connecting people, place, and culture
XTANT Workshop | Photo: Vilma Aliukonyte
Welcome gifts:
Chocolate hearts by MAUA Chocolatier,
Atlas of Memory by Irini Gonou.
Photo: Vilma Aliukonyte