Exhibits

Current Exhibits | Exhibit History

Current Exhibits

With Every Fiber

West Barn

With Every Fiber is a long-term exhibit aiming to inspire understanding and care about the materials that make up the built world around us. In 2020, Grace Farms launched Design for Freedom, a collaborative global movement to remove forced labor in the building materials supply chain, create true market transformation, and build a more equitable future. This exhibit is Grace Farms’ first major initiative to bring this movement to the public.

This immersive and interactive exhibit is curated by Grace Farms Creative Director Chelsea Thatcher and designed by Studio Cooke John Architecture + Design, with the graphics designed by Pentagram. It is the result of collaboration and contributions from 20 preeminent designers, material suppliers, cultural institutions, and construction industry leaders already committed to the Design for Freedom movement.

With Every Fiber features a curated recording by a quartet of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, poetry by U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, text by artist Carrie Mae Weems, and photography by international humanitarian photographer Lisa Kristine. It also features an immersive biomaterials installation by Yale Center for Ecosystems + Architecture (Yale CEA) emphasizing the relationship between culture and sustainability and bringing forth the concept of ethical decarbonization, a new term proposed by Grace Farms CEO and Founder Sharon Prince with Anna Dyson, founder of Yale CEA.

“With Every Fiber responds to Design for Freedom’s efforts to remove the veil covering the reality of unethical labor practices in the construction industry. The exhibit draws Grace Farms visitors – neighbors from across the street and design professionals from around the world – into the space and invites them to contemplate what goes into making our homes, places of work, cultural spaces, and sites for commemoration.”

– Studio Cooke John Architecture + Design Principal Nina Cooke John

“First the food industry was called to be accountable to fair labor and supply chain transparency, then fashion, and now shelter is being called to account.”

– Grace Farms CEO and Founder Sharon Prince

Learn More about the Exhibit

Learn More

Peace Forest

West Barn

What is Grace Farms and how does Grace Farms Foundation advance good in the world? An immersive installation inspired by nature, Peace Forest offers visitors an interactive experience highlighting how the landscape, architecture, and people at Grace Farms are part of the Foundation’s mission.

Pedestals made with ethically sourced steel and wood repurposed from the site, gently sway when touched and will feature text, objects, and archival photos. A map of Grace Farms and a program guide highlight offerings each day.

The installation is curated by Grace Farms Foundation Chief Strategy Officer and Founding Creative Director Chelsea Thatcher, and designed by Peter Miller (Palette Architecture) and Shohei Yoshida (shohei yoshida + associates / SYA), members of the architectural team of the award-winning SANAA-designed River building at Grace Farms, with the graphics designed by Pentagram.

Schedule a Visit

Exhibit Archive

Common Good Through Crisis

East Barn

Common Good Through Crisis, considered the relationships and connections that inspired Grace Farms Foundation’s efforts to provide 2 million critical PPE to frontline health care workers and hundreds of thousands of nutritious meals to our neighbors in need. Grace Farms Foundation’s work to close the PPE gap during the initial surge of the pandemic was furthered through collaboration with the State of Connecticut, the Town of New Canaan, and many other municipalities, hospitals, healthcare organizations, nonprofits, and individuals.

The “show spotlights people who have selflessly used their skills, and mobilized their networks, to serve others in big ways. The selection of stories, which mostly took place in the throes of the pandemic last year, demonstrate how one’s connections can be a powerful tool for fostering action and change.” – The Slowdown

The immersive installation, in which the public can participate in weaving, connected individual stories to a fabric of interconnectedness, and posed the question about an urgency and power in continuing to act for the common good, not just in times of crisis.

The exhibit, designed and curated with an ethical material lens by Chelsea Thatcher, Grace Farms Chief Strategy Officer and Founding Creative Director, and MASS Design, with graphics from Pentagram, inaugurated a new gallery space for the public in the East Barn.