Art Farm*

ART FARM is a two-part project. First, it is an experiment in community living. It is a home. It is also a living/working collective of artists, community activists, and practitioners in the field of sustainable living. Secondarily, it is a center for education, arts, and healing, as well as a retreat for people from the public at large.

"Sustainable living" means we work with collaborative learning models (evolving systems of learning which are participatory, body-based, and experiential); sustainable building practices (cob and strawbale construction; environmentally sound energy systems); permaculture (farming and agricultural practices which conserve the environment and are an expression of the human relationship with the natural world); art and community-building in the service of social change (the live arts in relation to the politics of our times); the healing arts (massage, herbalism, body-centered psychotherapies); conflict resolution, and peace-keeping (based on a Ghandian model).

Our vision includes work on local and global levels. It is modeled on the rural folk schools which supported the civil rights movement in the 60s. We wish to live harmoniously with one another, then build bridges and make alliances with others.

It is our desire to participate in the creation of a new culture which is holistic and egalitarian in nature. This experiment is an expression of our kinship with creativity, art, direct action, stewardship for the earth, human relations, pleasure, and a spiritual reverence for the world.