Open Artist Residency — Ubud, Bali

An open artist residency you can book like a room.

Working studios. Creative community. Nature meets town.
Stay a week or a year. No application, no waitlist — arrive and begin.

Working artist, remote professional, or someone who just needs a different desk. There is a room for you.

★ 4.85 · 1,500+ reviews · an open residency in Ubud since 2013

Two Locations · One Vision

A creative compound in town. Private villas in a village.

AIR began in downtown Ubud, around a 300sqm shared studio. Over the years it grew a second home — four private villas beside a thousand-year-old water temple. Two different worlds, one way of working.

AIR Ubud — creative compound

AIR Ubud · Jl. Seniman 1 · Map ↗

Creative compound, downtown Ubud.

Six rooms around a 300sqm shared studio. Community kitchen, breakfast each morning, and a shared dinner about once a week. Real community, without forced socialising. Three minutes from town, river-adjacent, jungle-flanked.

  • 6 rooms · from €25/night
  • 300sqm shared studio
  • Communal kitchen + rooftop
  • Built-in community programme
View AIR Ubud rooms →
AIR Temple — private villas in Desa Kenderan

AIR Temple · Desa Kenderan · Map ↗

Private villas, Balinese village.

Four villas in Desa Kenderan — a working Balinese village of wood carvers, stone carvers, and gamelan musicians preparing for ceremony. A 1,000-year-old water temple is next door, and the river beside it is cold and clear enough to jump in. The Manuaba waterfall is five minutes on foot. Endless rice field views, a garden, the sound of nature and ceremony. Twelve minutes from Ubud. Two different worlds.

  • 4 villas · from €40/night
  • Private pool + studio per villa
  • 1,000-yr water temple · Manuaba waterfall 5 min
  • Rice fields, garden, village life · 12 min from Ubud
View AIR Temple houses →

Not sure which side? See the full comparison in our FAQ. Many guests do both — a week of one, then a week of the other.

The Studio

Where Balinese craft meets contemporary production.

300sqm of shared working space in the centre of the compound. Monitors, standing desks, a dedicated room for work that needs space and mess. A professional photo studio with lighting on request. Open to all guests, no booking needed.

300 sqm · shared production floor
  • Monitors, standing desks, fast WiFi
  • Photo studio · backdrops + professional lights
  • Dedicated messy-work room
  • Connections to local artisans — woodcarving, stonework, textiles, silver

A I R holds three meanings.

A Artist

Anyone who makes things. Working artist, designer, founder, scientist, writer. Or someone who hasn't made anything in a long time and wants to start.

I In

A place to come in. Not an application, not a programme. A door you walk through with dates and a room number.

R Residency

The structure that holds it. Working studios, community when you want it, privacy when you don't. Time enough to make something.

Who comes here

Artists, builders, remote workers. People who need a different room.

No residency application. No jury. No theme of the year. You book like a hotel — but the people around you are making things.

01 — Working Artist

You have a body of work. You need uninterrupted time to finish it.

Musician in the middle of an album. Painter with a solo show in four months. Filmmaker between edits. The studio, the monitors, the silence — all of it is here. Some guests stay a week. Some guests stay three months.

What you leave with The finished thing.
02 — Remote Professional

Your work is digital. Your current desk isn't working anymore.

Designer, developer, writer, strategist — the timezone works, the internet works, the monitors are there when you need them. And at 6pm you stop being the only person in the room who makes things.

What you leave with The month you actually shipped something.
03 — Couple

One of you creates. Both of you needed a reason to go somewhere new.

The pool villas at AIR Temple are designed for this — separate rhythms, shared mornings, rice paddy views from the bedroom. One person works, one person reads, both end up at the same dinner.

What you leave with A memory that isn't a resort.
04 — Self-Directed

You're between things. Or you've decided what's next and need space to start.

Gap year, sabbatical, career pivot, or just: you left something and aren't sure what comes after. The studio is open. The people around you are in motion. That tends to be contagious.

What you leave with A direction. Or at least the first step.

The Rooms

6 rooms, 4 villas — find yours.

Showing all 11 rooms · 6 in Ubud · 5 at Temple

Plan your stay

Sky Eye — Loft, Yamaha & Monitor
AIR Ubud

Sky Eye

Loft, Yamaha & Monitor

★ 4.88 246

The highest room in the compound — three walls of floor-to-ceiling windows, floating above the palm canopy. A large external monitor and Yamaha studio speakers for digital work, music production, or late-night editing. A small meditation nook in the corner. You can see the whole studio from here, or close the curtains and disappear. The room that makes people extend their stay.

Queen bedYamaha speakers + monitorPre-loaded documentariesMeditation nook
Private Room from €40/night
The B-Side — Riverside, Monitor & Desk
AIR Ubud

The B-Side

Riverside, Monitor & Desk

★ 4.75 198

The quiet room. River directly below, jungle pressing in from every direction, panoramic steel-frame windows that frame the canopy like a painting. An external monitor, a large desk, an ensuite bath, a door that actually closes. People who know the compound tend to request this one. Secretly some people's favourite — the B-side that turns out to be the better track.

Queen bedExternal monitor + deskRiver viewPrivate bath
Private Room from €30/night
Parallel Universe — Mirror & Studio
AIR Ubud

Parallel Universe

Mirror & Studio

★ 4.73 156

A room designed as an artwork you sleep inside. Mirrors appear on surfaces you don't expect, multiplying the space into something harder to locate. A ukulele hangs on the wall. Books on making things are within reach — not as decoration, as tools. The mirror is the parallel universe. You are both versions of yourself here. The most affordable room, the strangest one.

Queen bedMirror wallUkuleleCurated library
Private Room from €25/night
Deep Focus — Loft, Monitor & Desk
AIR Ubud

Deep Focus

Loft, Monitor & Desk

★ 4.85 142

A loft above the jungle canopy, built for people who need to produce. Standing desk, large external monitor, two beds — good for pairs working together or a solo guest who wants to spread out. A shared kitchen is one level below. The balcony is nothing but green in every direction. When people say they came to work, this is the room they book.

2 beds (sleeps 4)Monitor + standing deskShared kitchenJungle balcony
Private Room from €30/night
Director's Cut — Kitchen, Monitor & Yamaha
AIR Ubud

Director's Cut

Kitchen, Monitor & Yamaha

★ 4.74 168

The only space at AIR Ubud with its own kitchen — a 96m² private apartment across two rooms. External monitor, Yamaha studio speakers, rooftop access. Full independence from the shared spaces below, with the community still one door away when you want it. The unabridged version of the AIR Ubud experience, nothing edited out. Best for longer stays, guests with a body of work to finish.

96m² apartmentOwn kitchenMonitor + YamahaPre-loaded documentaries
Entire Apartment from €50/night
Permission Slip — Pool & Art Studio
AIR Temple

Permission Slip

Pool & Art Studio

★ 4.82 112

A private one-bedroom villa with its own pool and dedicated art studio, surrounded by working rice paddies in the village of Kenderan. Javanese craft and contemporary art throughout — handmade detail in every corner, nothing generic. A 1,000-year-old water temple and its river are next door. Twelve minutes from Ubud by scooter, worlds away in feeling. For people who need space to think before they produce. You come here when you're ready to give yourself permission to start.

1 bedroomOwn private poolArt studioWater temple next door
Entire Villa from €55/night
Another Idea — 2BR Pool Villa & Studio
AIR Temple

Another Idea

2BR Pool Villa & Studio

★ 4.7 78

The largest villa at AIR Temple — two bedrooms across two floors, a rooftop terrace with volcano views, its own private pool. A full kitchen, access to the organic garden, a standing desk in the dedicated studio. For two artists who need separate working rhythms. For a couple who want entirely different mornings. Or for one person with a project large enough to need all of it. Two bedrooms, two perspectives, another idea.

2 bedroomsOwn private poolArt studio + deskWater temple next door
Entire Villa from €65/night
First Step — Pool & Art Studio
AIR Temple

First Step

Pool & Art Studio

★ 4.85 64

A gladak — a traditional Javanese wooden house, rebuilt and reimagined — with its own private art studio and porch. Shares the compound's large 4×10m pool, open kitchen, and bonfire area with the adjacent villa. A 1,000-year-old water temple and its river are next door. Mornings here are slow: coffee, the garden, whoever else is working that week. The hardest part of any project is the first step. This room exists to remove the excuses for not taking it.

Gladak villaShared big poolArt studioWater temple + river
Entire Villa from €40/night
Open Ending — Pool & Art Studio
AIR Temple

Open Ending

Pool & Art Studio

★ 4.97 88

A gladak villa with a dedicated art studio, sharing the compound's large 4×10m pool, open kitchen, and bonfire with the neighbouring house. The highest-rated space at AIR — 4.97 across 88 stays. A 1,000-year-old water temple and its river are next door. Mornings: that open kitchen is where the community breakfast happens organically, nobody planned it. The story isn't finished. You don't know what happens next when you arrive. That's the entire point.

Gladak villaShared big poolArt studioWater temple + river
Entire Villa from €40/night
Artist Village — Whole Compound
AIR Temple

Artist Village

Whole Compound

★ 4.78 94

The entire AIR Temple compound, all four villas as one booking: two private-pool houses and two traditional gladaks, gathered around a shared pool, an open kitchen, and a bonfire. Five bedrooms across the four spaces, sleeps up to ten, four dedicated art studios, three pools total. A 1,000-year-old water temple and its river are next door. For a group of makers, a family with room to spread, or a residency cohort. Full compound, full autonomy — with the community dinners at AIR Ubud still available if you want them.

All 4 villasSleeps 103 pools · 4 art studiosWater temple next door
Whole Compound from €300/night

What guests say

1,500+ reviews · 4.85 average · Superhost since 2015

How it works

Five quiet steps. No application.

  1. 01

    Choose your location.

    AIR Ubud for community and a shared studio. AIR Temple for a private villa with its own pool. Many guests do both — a week of one, then a week of the other.

  2. 02

    Pick the room.

    Eleven to choose from. Use the filter, or scroll the cards. Each one is honest about what it is and what it isn't.

  3. 03

    Book on Airbnb. Or direct — same price, no platform in between.

    Instant confirmation. No application form, no waitlist, no back-and-forth. For stays over a month or for groups taking the whole compound, WhatsApp works fastest.

  4. 04

    Arrive.

    Rudi can pick you up from the airport. Nano shows you around. Your room is ready. The studio is open. There is fruit on the table.

  5. 05

    Begin in your own time.

    Studio, community, rooftop. Or close the door for three days. Both are valid. Most do some of each.

FAQ

Common questions, direct answers.

Do I need to apply or submit work samples?

No application, no jury, no waitlist. AIR is a residency you book like a room. Choose your dates, pick your space, arrive. The filter is whether the work calls for it — not whether a committee agrees.

Can I get a scholarship or a discounted stay?

We don't offer scholarships. AIR is a small business made by artists for artists — no government backing, no foundation funding. What we do instead is keep prices as honest as we can sustain. A month here costs less than a week in most European cities. The access is the offer.

How long can I stay?

As long as the work needs. Most guests plan a week and extend. Some stay a month, a few stay three. There's no minimum on Airbnb. For stays over a month, ask us directly — long-stay rates are better and we'd rather sort it person to person.

What's the difference between AIR Ubud and AIR Temple?

AIR Ubud is a creative compound — six rooms, a shared studio, a community of makers, three minutes from town. AIR Temple is private villas in a Balinese village, each with its own pool and studio space, rice paddies and a water temple next door. Many guests do a week at one and a week at the other.

Can I use the art studio?

Yes — that's the whole point. The studio at AIR Ubud is a shared space with standing desks, external monitors, and separate room for work that needs space and mess. Photo studio with professional lights available. We also have a sewing machine, and can point you to every materials supplier on the island — canvas, stone carving in Mas, textiles, fabric markets, photo print labs.

What's included in the room rate?

Private room, private bathroom, air conditioning, up to 500 Mbps WiFi, studio access, standing desk, and the community that comes with a place like this. Breakfast is available. Airport pickup can be arranged with Rudi. We don't charge for the things that make it a residency.

Can I book for a group or a private retreat?

Yes. Artist Village at AIR Temple books the entire compound — all four villas, three pools, four studios, sleeps ten. Artist House at AIR Ubud books the full building — six rooms, the 300sqm studio, sleeps fourteen. Both are available on Airbnb or direct. For groups, direct is faster.

Is there a minimum stay?

No minimum on Airbnb. In practice, the work starts around day three once the jet lag clears and the novelty settles. If you're coming to make something, three weeks is the honest minimum. One week is fine if that's what you have.

Have a question that isn't here?

No application. No waitlist.
Just pick a room. Or a villa. Or the whole compound.

Choose your dates. Choose your space. Arrive and begin.

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AIRai · your guide questions about rooms or dates? we'll point you the right way.
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