Last Updated on December 19, 2022
Chicago-born visual artist Eileen Muza ditched her old life and moved to Cisco, a then-abandoned ghost town in the High Desert of Utah, of which she became the sole resident in 2015.
Her goal? To rebuild the abandoned town and turn Cisco into a community of artists.
When she was only 29, Muza became fascinated with Cisco during on of her travels and decided to get in touch with the owner and strike a deal.
She claims she was able to purchase the whole village for the price of “a used car“.
She then decided to move to Cisco and live off-grid in the desert with the only company of her dog, Rima, and started working on her dream of creating an artist residency and turn what was once a ghost town into a liveable community.
About Cisco
Cisco is located in Grand County, Utah. It was first built in the 1880s as a saloon and railroad fill station, and a popular stop for travelers crossing the High Desert. As a result to declining economy after the interstates came through, the town was completely abandoned by the 1990s.
Because of its position in the Mojave Desert, Cisco experiences extreme temperature shifts with dry and hot days and cold nights, and no running water.
A success story
Over the span of just a couple of years, Muza has succeeded to make Cisco relevant again.
Without much experience beforehand, Eileen embarked on a journey of fixing, renovating, and building all sorts of things in the village: from installing stoves to repairing windows to setting up outdoor kitchens and toilets.
The town now even has working Wi-Fi and electricity (although still no running water) and attracts tourists from all over the country.
Home of the Brave Artist
In 2019, Muza finally managed to lauch her dream project: an artist residency named Home of the Brave, which offers a one-month long program twice every year.
Residents and volunteers can live, work and make art in Cisco, all while contributing to the community.
The residency program is largely sponsored by donations, and Airbnb guests who wish to spend some time in Cisco.
Read also: Slab City, the Lawless Town in the California Desert
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