Set alongside the vineyards of Groot Constantia, Three Bones is a research retreat founded by multi-disciplinary philosopher Tarik Yildirim. Three Bones invites practitioners from the arts and sciences to engage in creative and scholarly pursuits. A particular thematic enquiry guides the month-long retreat, in which participants are accommodated in a sprawling residence that offers opportunities for communal activities, access to a multitude of hikes and meanders (with Three Bones bordering protected heritage environments and the Cape’s fynbos mountain reserve) and a private studio for each practitioner. In addition to the three participants, Three Bones appoints a writer who plays the role of scribe and researcher for the duration of the retreat, assimilating this content into a tangible narrative of its happenings that is shared with participants and the public. For the inaugural Three Bones retreat, 27 March–27 April, A4 Arts Foundation has undertaken to provide creative support to Yildirim, with A4 administering the layer of the retreat relating to ‘the studio’: content, materials, and ideas.