Creatives from around the world are finding inspiration on Fogo Island, where an experiment in architecture and hospitality anchors culture, community and place.
Zita Cobb, a native Newfoundlander and successful entrepreneur who made a sizable fortune in fibre optic technology, came up with an innovative approach to create a new sustainable economy in her childhood home. Art, architecture, and community are all at the core of Zita’s projects. With its initiative to build cultural and economic resilience on the rural island, Zita is developing sustainable tourism with the Fogo Island Inn and connecting local and international creative communities with Fogo Island Arts and its artist residency program.
Dominating the landscape with its perch on the rocky shore, the Fogo Island Inn is a 29-room lodge praised for its contemporary architecture, which buoys the island’s fishing roots with 35-foot columns that nod to the fishing stages characteristic of Newfoundland’s outports. Blending the island’s traditional culture with modern design, the inn is home to a contemporary ar gallery and a 37-seat cinema.
The artist studios are all self-sustaining and lie completely off the grid; rainwater is collected from the roof and stored in tanks for the small kitchens and showers in the studios. Anchored into the landscape by steel legs, the studios range in size from 200 to 1200 square feet. All studios are equipped with compost toilets, solar-powered electricity, and wood-burning stoves. The only tie to the outside world is the WiFi connection. Each has its own distinct look, but all are linear in proportion, minimalistic in design, and have full-height windows that frame the shoreline … and perhaps even a passing iceberg. The studios also are a nod to the island’s traditional fishing sheds with spruce wood shells and supporting stilts.
Long Studio, with its elongated space is ideal for hosting artists working on large-scale projects.
Tower Studio has a loft, rooftop terrace and a long boardwalk path from the main road. Unfortunately the path was being repaired so I couldn’t walk it to get any closer to the studio.
Bridge Studio, the only studio on an inland ‘pond’ (or lake) as opposed to facing the ocean, is a favourite for writers with a desk and full-height window facing the water.
Squish Studio, with its white-painted plank angles, sits on a rocky strip of coastline.
I haven’t been inside any of them so of course I really don’t know, but this one appeals to me most in terms of its location!!
In addition to the time spent on my ‘treasure hunt’ to find all the studios, I also got to take a trip out to Little Fogo Islands. Little Fogo Islands is an archipelago comprised of over 100 tiny islands approximately 10 kms off the coast of Fogo Island.
There was some great sea foam out here!
There are no longer year-round residents here, but Little Fogo Islands was once an important fishing community. Abandoned fishing stages, sheds, and homes, where there are still bits and pieces left behind tell the stories of the people who lived here until the late 1930s.
This is the little boat that took me to Little Fogo Islands.
Atlantic puffins (a member of the auk family), nest and breed here in the thousands. They’re very little, so difficult to see, but they’re very cute and curious. If you look carefully you might be able to see them in these photos/videos.
Some of the farmers on Fogo Island take their sheep by boat to Little Fogo Islands so they can graze, raise their lambs, and roam free during the warmer months.
St. Anne’s Church is a one-storey wooden church, built in 1867. It still stands strong, in spite of the whipping winds of the North Atlantic, and it pays tribute to the community spirit of the people of Little Fogo Islands who worked together to build it.
All good things must come to an end, and even though I loved being on Little Fogo Islands it was finally time to head back to the ‘mainland’ - which is really also an island. And on the way back we passed by the great auk for another view.
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