Hallowell, Maine - Today the Harlow Gallery announced the start of an Indiegogo campaign in support of CSA: Community Supporting Arts, a project partnering 14 artists with 13 CSA farms in and around central Maine. The campaign aims to raise $3,000 by July 1, 2012. The Harlow Gallery invites the public to invest in a 'share' of Community Supporting Arts through this grassroots internet fundraising tool; art and farm related perks are available to project supporters at various giving levels. Indiegogo.com is a global crowdfunding site that supports a creative community that embraces collaboration, fearlessness and authenticity. Please visit the campaign at http://www.indiegogo.com/CSA-Community-Supporting-Arts to find out more or to make a pledge. A video by participating artist Scott Minzy of Pittston is featured prominently in the campaign.
Maine’s artist and farming communities are vibrant, idealistic groups, both key to our state’s unique sense of place. CSA: Community Supporting Arts organizers believe that artists can use the power of their artistic voices to effect social change. The artists are busy creating art inspired by their farmers’ lives, work, landscapes, challenges and ideals, and the public can follow their progress by visiting the project blog site at http//:csaart.org.
Artwork by all the participating artists will be exhibited at the Harlow Gallery in October 2012. Additional exhibitions focusing on select artist/farmer pairs will take place at partner venues between November 2012 and February 2013, including Common Street Gallery in Waterville, Frontier Cafe Gallery in Brunswick, Maine Farmland Trust Art Gallery, Savory Maine Dining & Provisions in Damariscotta and the art gallery at Sheepscot General at Uncas Farm, with additional venues to be announced soon. The timing of all the exhibitions is meant in part to help spread awareness about local CSA farms as they begin recruiting new members for 2013.
Our partnering farmers are all operating CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farms in and around central Maine. In joining a CSA, folks make a financial commitment to their farm by investing in a share of the produce at the beginning of the growing season. In return farmers are committed to producing the freshest, most flavorful, high quality food possible for their members (most CSA farms adhere to organic standards as much as possible). Typically each CSA member gets a weekly delivery of produce from early summer through harvest. Community Supported Agriculture is a grassroots response to the growing social and environmental problems of our modern industrial food system, and this local foods movement is transforming relationships between people, food and farms. According to the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association website, Maine’s CSA community includes over 160 farms with more than 6,500 families investing in their local farms through the purchase of shares.
CSA: Community Supporting Arts artist/farm partnerships are as follows:
Kate Barnes of Oakland is partnered with Grassland Organic Farm in Skowhegan.
Susan Bickford of Newcastle and Kelsey Kobik of Portland are partnered with Goranson Farm in Dresden, and Dig Deep Farm (in residence at Goranson Farm).
Aleana Chaplin of Gardiner is partnered with Winterberry Farm in Belgrade.
Kim Christensen of Albion and Jamie Ribisi-Braley of Manchester are partnered with Wholesome Holmstead in Winthrop.
Matt Demers of Gardiner is partnered with SNAFU Acres Farm in Monmouth.
Kerstin Engman of Liberty is partnered with Treble Ridge Farm in Whitefield.
Tyler Gulden of Walpole is partnered with Morning Dew Farm in Newcastle.
Christine Higgins of Readfield is partnered with Annabessacook Farm in Winthrop.
Scott Minzy of Pittston is partnered with Long Meadow Farm in West Gardiner.
Maina Handmaker of Brunswick is partnered with Milkweed Farm in Brunswick.
Petrea Noyes of Lincolnville is partnered with Crescent Run Farm in Bremen.
Emily Trenholm of Portland is partnered with Fresh Start Farms in Lisbon.
CSA: Community Supporting Arts is a project of the Harlow Gallery and the Kennebec Valley Art Association in partnership with the Kennebec Local Food Initiative. The Kennebec Valley Art Association is a 501(c)3 membership based arts organization, which has owned and operated the Harlow Gallery in Hallowell since 1963. The Kennebec Local Food Initiative is an organization based in Gardiner, Maine that strives to strengthen community food security through access, education, information and advocacy. CSA: Community Supporting Arts has been made possible by grant funding from the Maine Community Foundation, the Maine Arts Commission and from the Davis Family Foundation. The funds raised through Indiegogo will qualify as required matching funds for the Maine Community Foundation and the Maine Arts Commission.
"Kate Barnes working on a painting of Grassland Organic Farms for CSA: Community Supporting Arts project."
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