Habitats For Artists was initiated in the summer of 2008 and came out of the work of Cold Spring artist Simon Draper. He invited several artists to participate in the project and they took up residency creating small studio spaces working both in and outside the structures. The structures were made from used and recycled material, old lumber, windows and doors and unfinished art works.
Draper’s concept was for the artists to examine how they might redefine their creative space, needs and process in terms of how much more creative we could be, as a culture, if we used less materials, energy and land.
In the two years since it began, HFA in collaboration with ecoartspace has partnered with over twenty organizations and engaged with over fifty artists in various locations. Completed projects have taken place in Rhinebeck at Poet’s Walk with Scenic Hudson, in the town of New Paltz and at the SUNY campus, Kingston, Workspace Harlem, Urban Go Green NYC, Chashama in Times Square and Solar One on the East River Park, NYC.
Aside from the current project at the Hudson Highlands Land Trust in Garrison there are also new works installed at Common Ground Farm CSA at Stonykill, Burlington Community College in NJ and coming this September in Philadelphia along the Schuylkill River with the Destination Schuylkill Project.
Philipstown residents can view several new HFA artists’ working in their studios behind the Hudson Highland Land Trust in Garrison.
Artists in residence over the course of the summer will include: Susan English, Sheilah Rechtschaffer, Carol Flaitz, Michael Natiello, Sarah Haviland, Marnie Hillsley, Kit Burke Smithe, Christopher Manning, Carla Goldberg, Dionis Ortiz, Todd Sargood and Simon Draper.
The River of Words habitat (pictured in the article) was created and designed by talented local kids in conjunction with HHLT’s Hudson Highlands Regional River of Words Watershed Education Program (ROW), Simon Draper and other HFA artists. HHLT’s ROW educators are conducting a series of fun and creative workshops for kids age 6 and up Thursday’s from 3-5pm during the month of July. Tomorrow (7/8/10) join Irene O’Garden and Lisa Mechaley in making WeatherGrams. A WeatherGram is a brief bit of poetry about nature which is lettered and left out in the weather. During the workshop, kids will write their own poems and letter them on to special strips of brown paper. To register, call 424-3358 or visit http://www.hhlt.org for more info.
I am lucky enough to live around the corner from these extraordinary works of art so I get to scope them out several times a day.
It is quite extraordinary to see these artists at work.
I’m loving it!
Um. Not everyone knows where Hudson Highlands Land Trust is located. It would be helpful to point out where they are.
The Hudson Highland Land Trust is located at the intersection of Snake Hill Road and Rte 9D in Garrison. The HFA exhibit is directly behind (on the Snake Hill side) – – you can’t miss it.
As long as you attribute it to Philipstown.info. We do not currently tweet but may in the future.