About The Island In Tucson
The Island in Tucson is an 11-acre desert sanctuary nestled in the Sonoran Desert, along the western boundary of Saguaro National Park on the ancestral lands of the Tohono O’odham Nation. Located just 35 minutes from downtown Tucson, the sanctuary offers both seclusion and proximity to the cultural life of the city.
The project was founded by Olivier Dubois-Cherrier, a French-Caribbean visual artist whose nomadic journey ultimately led him to the desert and the Tucsonan community, where he discovered a profound sense of belonging. The site is co-managed with Emily Gray-Wollard, a multidisciplinary visual artist whose practice is grounded in feminist activism and enriched by her ongoing academic work in psychological science. Together, Olivier and Emily live and work at The Island, shaping it into a unique refuge for creative and personal exploration.
Launched in the summer of 2020, The Island in Tucson is envisioned as a place of retreat, reverence for natural and cultural heritage, artistic expression, and reflection on new paradigms of living. The desert landscape itself fosters peace, resilience, and gratitude—qualities that pervade the project’s ethos.
The future of The Island remains open and evolving. As philosopher Henri Bergson observed, “A definition is something that is finished and cannot change unless we choose to change the definition.” In this spirit, Olivier and Emily imagine The Island as an ever-transforming endeavor—an uncommon project where art, community, sustainability, food cultivation, and mindful living intertwine in harmony.
The project was founded by Olivier Dubois-Cherrier, a French-Caribbean visual artist whose nomadic journey ultimately led him to the desert and the Tucsonan community, where he discovered a profound sense of belonging. The site is co-managed with Emily Gray-Wollard, a multidisciplinary visual artist whose practice is grounded in feminist activism and enriched by her ongoing academic work in psychological science. Together, Olivier and Emily live and work at The Island, shaping it into a unique refuge for creative and personal exploration.
Launched in the summer of 2020, The Island in Tucson is envisioned as a place of retreat, reverence for natural and cultural heritage, artistic expression, and reflection on new paradigms of living. The desert landscape itself fosters peace, resilience, and gratitude—qualities that pervade the project’s ethos.
The future of The Island remains open and evolving. As philosopher Henri Bergson observed, “A definition is something that is finished and cannot change unless we choose to change the definition.” In this spirit, Olivier and Emily imagine The Island as an ever-transforming endeavor—an uncommon project where art, community, sustainability, food cultivation, and mindful living intertwine in harmony.
