A creative home on one of the last inhabited islands in the Chesapeake Bay, where art, nature, and simply being present come together at a blissful pace.
The Soul Arts Center is Jemma's Center: a small, welcoming community of houses on Smith Island. Here the pace of the island gently asks you to slow down, and in that slowing, something essential has room to grow.
We are not a resort, and you don't need to be an artist to belong here. We are a living community built around a simple belief: that rest, creativity, nature, and presence are not luxuries. They are what help us feel like ourselves again. Everything we offer grows from that belief.
Is This You?Everything here grows from one center and branches out into four ways to join in. Each one connects to the others: a workshop leads to a quiet morning in the food forest, and a weekend visit can turn into a longer stay.
create · reconnect · belong
Many people arrive tired of the noise and the rat race, and quietly ready for something to change. Here, making art becomes a way of being present: your hands are busy, your mind settles, and you begin to see the world a little differently. Nothing needs to be performed or perfected. You only need to show up as you are.
Find Out If This Is for YouWeekend and day workshops for complete beginners discovering art for the first time and for experienced artists deepening their practice. No experience is needed.
Set aside the "right way" and let the work come from within. It's a gentle, freeing way to express yourself.
Learn more →Explore acrylics, watercolor, and alcohol ink, each with its own character, pace, and happy surprises.
Learn more →A room here is never just a room. Bella Villa, The Blossom, The Koi House, and St. Christopher Cottage each open onto a living island community, for a couple on a quiet escape or a group of ten.
See the HousesEach house is also home to two residents: 5D People who want to live in community, create together, and share in the life of the Center.
Learn About ResidencyWhatever brings you here, you will be received with full acceptance.
Smith Island can only be reached by water, and it is one of the last inhabited islands in the Chesapeake Bay. There are no traffic lights and no bridges, just marsh, sky, water, and a community that has lived by the tides for centuries. It's an easy place to slow down.
Getting Here