Our Mission
Farm Arts Collective is an Agri-Cultural organization located on Willow Wisp Organic Farm in Damascus, Pennsylvania. Founded in 2018 by farmer and theatre artist, Tannis Kowalchuk, our mission is to build a healthy and creative community through life-sustaining practices in farming, art, food, and ecology. The collective offers workshops in farming and food, site specific performances, community meals, and social justice events to deepen our connection to place and each other.
Farm Arts Collective makes its home on Willow Wisp Organic Farm, a solar-powered organic vegetable farm serving northeast Pennsylvania, the Catskills, and New York City. The company is also in residence at The Delaware Valley Opera Center for winter rehearsal space.
Farm Arts Collective presents workshops, performances, meals, and special events that engage community members in inter-disciplinary creative practices that deepen our connection to place and each other.
Farming
Soil health, biodiversity, and crop diversity are maximized in organic farming while protecting our natural resources for seven generations.
Farming programs at Farm Arts Collective promote and expand this knowledge through engaging workshops that serve the expanding local community of farmers, homesteaders, gardeners, and beginners.
Art
Original devised theatre performance is the artistic mainstay at Farm Arts Collective, with ongoing workshops, rehearsals, and public performances.
Artistic director Tannis Kowalchuk leads the Farm Arts Collective ensemble of performers, musicians, makers & designers in projects that address important contemporary issues.
Farm Arts Collective productions are spectacular indoor and outdoor works presented on-site and often tour regionally.
Photo by Jonathan Charles Fox
Food
Farm fresh healthy food is ever-present at Farm Arts Collective.
Seasonal meals are served after performances; workshops in cooking, fermenting, and preserving, are offered monthly; and unique seasonal food experiences take place year-round.
Food—the growing, the cooking, the understanding converge in convivial meals that unite us around the dinner table.
Ecology
The health and sustainability of our environment and the best practices to live in harmony with our land and water are ever-present at Farm Arts Collective.
Whether it is a seed-saving demonstration, a mushroom hunt, or a renewable energy workshop, the relationships between plants, animals, people, and their environment define the inquiry and activities.
Community Engagement
Diverse programming for a diverse community defines the activities at Farm Arts Collective. Through skill exchange and creative community building, we achieve the core mission to be a nexus for farming, art, food, and ecology.
Farm Arts Collective invites people to connect with each other, share unique skills, foster learning through workshops, and drive creative inter-disciplinary projects. Like trees in a forest, our interdependence is our strength.