Nebraska Art Farm "Cultivates" Culture In The Country

Nebraska Art Farm "Cultivates" Culture In The Country AG WORLD 29-3-23 Ed Dadey cultivates art the way other farmers plant and harvest crops. For the past 11 years, he has been hosting visiting artists at his Art Farm 80 miles west of Lincoln, Neb. "Each year we select artists to come live and work on the farm," says Dadey, an artist himself who grew up on the farm and returned to it after college. "We get applications from all over the world. This year, it looks like we will have a photographer from Japan and a conceptual artist from Boston, among others." Recent projects completed on the farm include a Nebraska artist's 3 by 4 by 65-ft. barn that snakes across the hillside. An artist from China replicated the small, mud brick house of her childhood. An artist from the Netherlands fabricated a sport coat-like piece of art out of clover seeds. Other projects have included painting, sculpture, video and ceramics. Most artists stay for two to three months while working on their projects. Invited artists are responsible for food, travel and any materials not found on site. They come to stay in one of five artist studios, attracted by the experience of working in the unique setting, explains Dadey. "People see what has been done here, and that attracts others who want to do something similar," he says. Until recently, Dadey supported Art Farm with off-site work as a computer programmer and with a few private donations. Today, it is run as a non-profit organization with a board of directors. "We are getting more individuals willing to sponsor an artist or a building," he says. "We can't draw the numbers of people to qualify for the big grant funders. We just slowly improve year to year." Most of the 20 plus buildings on the 80-acre farm have been moved from neighboring farm sites as the farms have been bought and abandoned by larger farmers. Dadey has just finished moving his 6th barn into place for use as an art gallery and shop. He is slowly winterizing the farm's two houses and the studios so the Art Farm can be open year round. Dadey encourages others with an interest in art to do what he has done. He suggests contacting local arts councils, arts clubs or schools, and offering the space. "Basically, artists want an empty building, the rougher the better,' he says. "Most city artists have no space to work in." Dadey suggests hosting at least two artists at a time, as they will not be used to the country solitude at first. One artist told him at first the birds singing bothered him more than the gunshots outside his apartment in the city. He says his local community has embraced the Art Farm and asks when the annual Art Harvest festival will be held. When the artist from China was building an adobe replica of the house she grew up in, people came from 150 miles around to help. "I think there was a real connection between her house and the sod houses of the prairies, and it hooked people's attention," says Dadey. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ed Dadey, Art Farm, 1306 W. 21st Rd., Marquette, Neb. 68854 (ph 402 854-3120; email: artfarm@hamilton.net; website: www.artfarmnebraska.org).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.