May – October 2021
PHS Meadowbrook Farm
Jenkintown, Pennsylvania
Curated + Programmed for InLiquid
Overview
InLiquid @ Meadowbrook was a season-long partnership between InLiquid and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society that brought contemporary art, working artists, and public programming into the landscape of PHS Meadowbrook Farm.
The project combined a group exhibition installed throughout the property and a rotating series of artist residencies. Each month, a different artist received no-fee access to Meadowbrook as a setting for research, experimentation, creative work, and interaction with visitors. Resident artists also developed and taught a paid public class connected to their practices.
I helped develop and manage the program as an integrated model of exhibition-making, artist opportunity, institutional partnership, and public engagement.
FROM DISPLAY TO CONTINUOUS ENGAGEMENT
InLiquid @ Meadowbrook approached the Meadowbrook property as an active part of the curatorial experience. The season-long exhibition, Art in the Garden, created an evolving relationship between contemporary artwork and a living landscape. Rotating residencies introduced another layer of activity, giving artists time to observe and respond to the grounds while allowing visitors to encounter artistic work in progress. Artist-led classes provided a structured point of entry into each resident’s materials, methods, and ideas.
Clockwise from top left: Vicki Vinton, Stand With Presence; Erica Ehrenbard; Rodger Wing, Unruly Spirit
THE PROGRAM MODEL
SEASON-LONG EXHIBITION
Art in the Garden featured work by Nancy Agati, Patrick Cabry, Won Choi, Diane Deery Richards, Erica Ehrenbard, Charles Emlen, Michael Morgan, Amy Orr, Zachary Steinheiser, Vicki Vinton, and Roger Wing.
Contemporary sculpture was installed throughout Meadowbrook’s gardens, structures, and grounds. The horticultural setting shaped how the work was encountered, creating relationships among constructed objects, living materials, historic architecture, weather, growth, and seasonal change. Because the exhibition remained in place from May through October, visitors could experience the work differently as the surrounding landscape evolved.
Left to right: Nanci Agati, Radiate; Diane Richards
ROTATING ARTIST RESIDENCIES
Five artists participated in month-long residencies over the course of the season: Nancy Agati, Summer J. Hart, Suji Kanneganti, Serena Saunders, Teresa Shields, and Colleen Stepanic.
Each artist received no-fee access to Meadowbrook as a setting for research, experimentation, and creative development. The residency structure brought active artistic practice into a public environment, allowing visitors to encounter artists through conversation, observation, and the visible process of making.
The artists and their work were also promoted through the communications platforms of both InLiquid and PHS, connecting them with audiences beyond the traditional gallery community.
Site engagements by Teresa Shields during her residency.
ARTIST-LED PUBLIC PROGRAMS
Each resident artist developed and taught a paid public class connected to their practice.
These programs gave visitors a direct way to explore the materials, methods, and questions informing each artist’s work. They also created compensated teaching opportunities through which the artists could share their practices with a broader public audience.
Workshop documentation from “Silk Painting In The Garden” led by resident artist Colleen Stepanic.
BUILDING A MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL PARTNERSHIP
The program was built around the distinct resources of PHS and InLiquid. PHS’ Meadowbrook offered an unusual public site, horticultural knowledge, an established visitor audience, and access to a living landscape. InLiquid brought relationships with contemporary artists, curatorial and program-development experience, and the communications infrastructure to present and promote their work.
The partnership created value in both directions. Artists offered visitors new ways to observe and interpret the property. Meadowbrook gave artists a setting in which to investigate relationships among art, nature, material, time, and place. The program created a shared framework through which both organizations could contribute their particular strengths.
Zachary Steinheiser
PROJECT REACH
Art in the Garden presented work by 11 artists across Meadowbrook’s 25-acre public garden from May through October 2021. The extended installation period allowed visitors to encounter the artwork repeatedly and under changing seasonal conditions.
The accompanying residency series generated new site-responsive work, artist-led public programs, and direct exchange between artists and Meadowbrook visitors, as well as facilitated the sale of artworks. Promotion through InLiquid and PHS also introduced participating artists to audiences extending beyond the conventional gallery community.
All images courtesy of InLiquid