Green Acres: Artists Farming Fields, Greenhouses and Abandoned Lots

Harrison Studio, 'Survival Series #6', 1973/2009. 'Radical Nature: Art and Architecture for a Changing Planet 1969-2009', Barbican Art Gallery, London, UK (photo: Lyndon Douglas)

The exhibition 'Green Acres: Artists Farming Fields, Greenhouses and Abandoned Lots', which opens September 22, 2012 in the (CAC) Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati (USA) addresses farming as both activism and art form. Featuring a real working farm within the gallery, a farm stand in the museum lobby, sculptures used for farming, videos and other installations, as well as multiple satellite projects in the community, Green Acres presents farming as art through a wide variety of approaches. Artists include: Kim Abeles, Agnes Denes, Dan Devine, Field Faring, Futurefarmers, Anya Gallaccio, Avital Geva, Lonnie Graham, Harrison Studio, Mei Ling Hom, Homeadow Song Farm, Patricia Johanson, Sakarin Krue-On, J. J. McCracken, Matthew Moore, N55, Permaganic Eco Garden, Mara Adamitz Scrupe, Mara Scrupe, Bonnie Ora Sherk, Åsa Sonjasdotter, Susan Leibovitz Steinman, Tatfoo Tan, Shannon Young. 'Green Acres' is on view through January 20, 2013.

Raphaela Platow, the CAC's Alice & Harris Weston Director and Chief Curator explains: 'Green Acres builds on eco-conscious exhibitions the Contemporary Arts Center has spearheaded in the past, including 'The American Lawn: Surface of Everyday Life', 'Ecovention' and 'Beyond Green', and puts into context the nearly 40 year phenomena of farming as art. Yet it highlights the fact that the field has experienced a recent surge, evidenced by the vast amount of works in Green Acres that have been completed in the past five years."'

The show is presented in five sections:

- Farming Awareness explores how artists have alerted food consumers to the significance of food production.

- Innovative Farming Strategies surveys artistic practices that have contributed to the development of inventive farming techniques.

- Community Farming/Farming Communities juxtaposes "community farming"—farms organized by artists for constituents—with 'farming communities'—farms implemented by artist-farmers with the public.

- Biodiversity presents a cause important to the artist-farmer as artists have consistently considered their efforts in stark contrast to the industrial type of monoculture-farming.

- Farming Mysticism shows artists offering blessings, rituals and other esoteric approaches that highlight emotional connections between people and the earth, as well as the historical pairing of spiritualism and farming.

'Green Acres' curator Sue Spaid notes: 'Though the exhibition is presented in sections, 'community' and 'freedom' are themes running throughout the show. The impressive roster of international artists in this exhibition are known for addressing community-specific issues in their work, and a key component to the exhibition will be the satellite projects throughout the community. Freedom pertains to the choices citizens make as well as the artists' capacity to act, achieve their goals and involve others in their vision.'

'Green Acres: Artists Farming Fields, Greenhouses and Abandoned Lots'
September 22, 2012 - January 20, 2013
Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati
Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art
44 East 6th Street, Cincinnati, USA
www.contemporaryartscenter.org