11°N, an initiative of the MATRA Design Foundation, is set to bring together practitioners and thinkers from architecture, design, art, craft, film, music, food and technology for a three-day retreat in Kozhikode, Kerala from December 16 to 20, 2026.
The programme draws from a broad spectrum of creative practice. Talks and intimate dialogues sit alongside installations, hands-on making, culinary experiences, a design market, music and film, creating multiple ways for participants to engage with ideas. The emphasis is on encountering different practices in relation to one another, rather than experiencing them as separate disciplines.
The choice of Kerala adds another dimension to the experience. Its landscape, built environment, food, craft and cultural traditions become part of the setting in which 11°N unfolds. For those travelling to the retreat, the experience extends beyond the venue into the textures and rhythms of the destination itself, making place an active part of the three-day journey.
The rhythm of each day is intentionally fluid. Mornings may begin with yoga, bird walks, followed by talks and exchanges; afternoons move between making, food and exploration; and evenings stretch into shared dinners, music, games and time around the fire. Participants can move through these experiences at their own pace, with no prescribed way to experience the retreat.
Tony Joseph, Principal, Stapati said, “11°N is an attempt to create something that cannot be reduced to a programme or a series of talks. We wanted to create the conditions for people to slow down and encounter ideas, places and each other without the usual pressure to keep moving. Kerala gives us the setting to do that in a very natural way. The food, landscape, craft, music and built environment are not backdrops to the experience; they are part of the experience. We hope people leave with new perspectives, but also with the memory of having genuinely spent time somewhere, with interesting people, and with themselves.”
Around 400-500 invited participants will form the community at the heart of the inaugural edition. The curated gathering brings together people who work across different fields and stages of creative practice, creating a setting where a designer might encounter a filmmaker, a chef might work alongside an artist, or a technologist might find common ground with a craftsperson.
The experience is deliberately designed around discovery rather than a fixed itinerary. Participants might find themselves in a conversation they did not arrive looking for, encounter an unfamiliar material or practice, discover an object at the design market, share a long meal or end the day around a fire. These unscripted moments are an essential part of what 11°N seeks to create: three days with enough space for something unexpected to happen.