About
Our mission
“Art and science are the twin engines of progress” - Arthur Koestler
At Artisa Academic & Art Retreat, we focus on helping people connect with their true selves, tap into their wisdom, and unlock their creativity. We’re passionate about creating a warm, supportive space where you can grow, explore new ideas, and express yourself.
We believe in the power of shared inspiration and collaboration. Whether you’re a scientist, artist, leader, or simply someone looking for fresh air and new perspectives, we offer a place where you can use your talents and discover new ways to tackle the big challenges we all face.
Who we are
We share a passion for a life long learning, writing, art, creating, sun and spiritual development. Our strength lies in our individual expertise and the added value of our cooperation.
Celeste Neelen
- Retreat Facilitator
- Work and Organizational Psychologist
- Modern Dance Teacher
- Co-founder of La Terra Saggia
- Director of ARTISA
- Partner at Quinx
Celeste is co-founder at La Terra Saggia, directs Artisa, and partners with Quinx, a Belgian-Dutch consultancy. She has been running her own company, for many years, specializing in personal and spiritual development and leadership.An experienced retreat coach, she specializes in helping individuals connect with their true potential, authenticity and creativity. In her free time, she expresses her creativity through vibrant oil and mixed media paintings.
Anja Hueber
- Consultant and Retreat Facilitator
- Co-founder of La Terra Saggia
- Co-founder of Quinx
Anja is co-founder of Quinx and La Terra Saggia. She has dedicated years to personal and leadership development. In recent years she has been focussing more on fine-tuning her own programs in specific area’s such as the power of silence, deep personal and transpersonal work and her work on increasing women’s impact in the world. She creates a safe and supporting space where people can dive deeper into discovering who they are without masks and beyond patterns. She is responsible for co-creating La Terra Saggia and she facilitates our silent retreats.
Dr. Frank Leoné
- PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience
- Assistant professor at University of Twente, Netherlands
- Co-founder of AKKU trainingbureau, Head of Marbelous Minds
Dr. Frank Leoné holds a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience. His writing experience includes fields as broad as Neuroscience, Artificial Intelligence, Psychology, Philosophy, and Law, as well as extensive experience writing for grants and advisory work. He currently is assistant professor Professional Learning & Technology at University of Twente. Previously he worked at Radboud University Nijmegen and was self-employed in Marbelous Minds, a startup dedicated to making learning more fun. He leads the PhD writing week at Artisa.
Dr. Heleen van Luijn
- PhD in Psychology of Culture and religion
- Philosophy MA
- Founder of Dutch Institute for research and PhD supervision
Dr. Heleen van Luijn studied Psychology of Culture and Religion and Philosophy at Radboud University in Nijmegen. She did her PhD on a study into an ambivalent child wish of women. She has been working for more than 35 years as a researcher, teacher and manager at different Dutch universities and research institutes. She worked for Tilburg University, Free University Amsterdam (VU), the Royal Academy for Sciences (KNAW), the Social and Cultural Planning Office (SCP) and the Roosevelt Academy. She was also a research fellow at the department of Social Medicine of Harvard University.
During her career she supervised many students, researchers and PhDs. In 2012 she founded the Dutch Institute for Research and PhD Supervision. She is (co-)author of many articles and several books. She leads the PhD writing week at Artisa.
Wouter Torfs
- Former CEO Schoenen Torfs
- Consultant and Retreat Facilitator
- Facilitator ‘Organisations of the Future’
Wouter Torfs, former CEO of Schoenen Torfs, consistently led his company to the top of Belgium’s ‘Great Place to Work’ rankings and in 2019 to ‘Best Employer in Europe’. His people-centered leadership style and focus on creating a positive workplace culture are frequently highlighted as exemplary in the realm of employer branding.
He was active as an NLP trainer for several years, followed many courses in personal development and is an avid mindfulness practitioner. He now supervises three ‘councils’ for ‘Organisations of the Future’. At Artisa he facilitates our silent retreats together with Anja Hueber.
Our advisory board
Prof. dr. Halleh Ghorashi
Halleh Ghorashi has a multidisciplinary background in social sciences. As full professor of diversity and integration at the VU in Amsterdam, she proposes a critical approach of diversity and inclusion and shows the importance of the perspectives of migrants and refugees through narrative methodology in creating more inclusive structures. To read her blog click here.
Marloes Verhoeven
Marloes is a visual artist (Mare Veen) and works as a teacher and programme coordinator for ArtEZ, University of the Arts. She has a background in theatre and photography and holds an MA for Development Studies at the Radboud University, Nijmegen.
Prof. dr. Peter Hagoort
Peter Hagoort is director of the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics (since November 2006), and the founding director of the Donders Institute, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, a cognitive neuroscience research centre at the Radboud University Nijmegen. To read our interview with prof. dr. Peter Hagoort click here.
Agriturismo
“Having land and not ruining it is the most beautiful art that anybody could ever want.” - Andy Warhol
Here, among the rolling hills we invite you to experience the magic of our land, our lush orchard, where olive trees sway gently in the breeze. From these trees, we produce our own golden olive oil – a taste of our land’s soul in every drop!
As a commitment to organic farming we are building a vegetable garden. Alongside this, you’ll find walnut trees, fig trees, cherry trees, and more, each adding to the rich diversity of our land.
We are building a community by organising working weeks, where volunteers join us in maintaining the land, caring for the trees, and sharing the joy of hands-on work. From pruning the olive trees to harvesting the sweetest cherries, there’s always something meaningful to do, and we do it together with heart and purpose.
Send us a mail whenever you would like to be part of our community and join one of our working weeks in spring and autumn.
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