Full Season of Programs Invite the Public to Experience Grace Farms Through Musical Performances, Architecture Programs, Health and Wellness Activities, Nature Workshops, a New Lecture Series Recognizing Visionary Leaders, and more
New Permanent Sculpture by Alicja Kwade to be Unveiled This Fall
A Special Celebration Recognizing Ten Years of Grace Farms Will Take Place on October 11
Today, Sharon Prince, CEO and Founder of Grace Farms and Chelsea Thatcher, Chief Strategic Officer of Grace Farms, announced the Foundation’s 10th anniversary season, which kicks off this September and runs through May 2026. A series of marquee events under the theme “We all build” will celebrate Grace Farms’ journey, convene people with nature, present visual and performing arts, pursue justice across sectors, foster community with intergenerational activities, and explore faith through workshops and lectures. On October 11, 2025, Grace Farms will host a celebratory day open to the public. The 10 year celebration will feature an extraordinary conversation between Sharon Prince, Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA, the visionary architects who designed Grace Farms’ River building.
The full season of programming will feature a new, ground-breaking series, Grace Farms Lectures. The Lectures bring together visionary leaders who have shaped our world, inviting them to share the wisdom they have learned through their distinguished careers. Each lecture is accompanied by a 60-minute concert specially curated by Grace Farms artist-in-residence Arlen Hlusko and performed by some of today’s most celebrated musicians. The pieces these artists perform respond directly to the life’s work of each speaker and the impact they continue to make. On January 10, 2026, Sharon Prince will deliver the inaugural lecture on creating spaces that communicate and catalyze good in the world. Other featured speakers include acclaimed scholar and writer and Founding Director of Yale Center for Faith & Culture Dr. Miroslov Volf and Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer, botanist and acclaimed author.
This season’s programs will include a focus on Grace Farms’ distinctive, daylit music performances in the glass-enclosed Sanctuary, against the backdrop of 80 acres of natural landscapes. More season highlights include a performance by internationally acclaimed cellist and 19-time GRAMMY® winner Yo-Yo Ma, GRAMMY® Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell, the return of The Humanity in Architecture Film Festival, a special concert by Grace Farms artist-in-residence and GRAMMY®-winning Canadian cellist Arlen Hlusko, Grace Farms’ annual Earth Day celebration, a concert with GRAMMY® Award-winning jazz singer Dianne Reeves, a special event for athletes with five-time Olympian Kerri Walsh Jennings, and Lunch with a Purpose — a new Grace Farms series featuring conversations with leaders transforming essential industries. Throughout the season, visitors will also have the opportunity to enjoy Grace Farms Tea & Coffee through unique experiences such as Journey Through the World of Tea and Wellness Retreats. Full programming details are below.
Sharon Prince said, “Since Grace Farms opened, we have welcomed nearly 1 million visitors and developed programs with world-class performers, celebrated artists, Nobel laureates, social entrepreneurs, and people committed to creating more grace and peace in the world. These programs widen our worldview and create meaningful dialogue. As we celebrate this milestone and launch a full year of dynamic programming, we look forward to the boundless possibilities that lie ahead — a future where Grace Farms will continue to build upon these hopeful 10 years and bring people together to create a more sustainable and equitable world.”
New Sculpture by Alicja Kwade
On September 13, Grace Farms will unveil the new acquisition and permanent sculpture, ParaPosition, 2024 by Alicja Kwade. Comprised of interlocking steel frames supporting two boulders and an inverted chair made of bronze, ParaPosition’s array of metal and stone draws viewers into the frame of this massive, yet fragile, universe. ParaPosition joins other site-specific public art installations on permanent display at Grace Farms, including Beatriz Milhazes’s Moon Love Dreaming (2016), Teresita Fernández’s Double Glass River (2015), and Thomas Demand’s Farm 56 & Farm 88 (2015).
Venice Biennale and New Installation of With Every Fiber Exhibit
On view beginning October 11, 2025, Grace Farms will open a new iteration of the With Every Fiber exhibit, which offers insights into forced labor in the building materials supply chain.
With Every Fiber presents Design for Freedom, Grace Farms’ work to elevate human rights and eliminate forced and child labor in the built environment. It tells the story of this work through new, commissioned artworks. These pieces have been created by John Sabraw, artist and Professor of Art at Ohio University, Nina Cooke John, Principal of Studio Cooke John Architecture & Design and designer of With Every Fiber, Webb Yates Engineers in London, and artist Hannah Rose Thomas, who will be unveiling a life-size portrait of modern slavery survivor and social entrepreneur Nasreen Sheikh. The London Philharmonic Orchestra, which has a long partnership with Grace Farms, is recording a new commission for this exhibit.
With Every Fiber incorporates Design for Freedom’s principles into its design, including prioritizing circularity. The exhibit is circular in design — materials from past Grace Farms exhibitions are repurposed throughout. Traditionally, exhibit materials, from walls to flooring, are often built for a single use and then discarded. Elements used in this exhibit will be reused in future iterations.
Chelsea Thatcher, Grace Farms’ Chief Strategic Officer, Founding Creative Director, and curator of the exhibit said, “The new iteration of With Every Fiber is designed to help the public reimagine architecture with fair labor. It brings forward innovative solutions in stone, pigment, and glass — building materials that are typically at high-risk of forced and child labor — and highlights breakthrough approaches to ethical sourcing that will create a more humane built environment for all.”
A portion of With Every Fiber was adapted and included in the Intelligens CANON at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, curated by Carlo Ratti, open through November 2025.
10th Anniversary Celebration
On October 11, 2025, Grace Farms will host an all-day ticketed celebratory event where guests can encounter, experience, and explore Grace Farms, the River building, its fall landscapes, and anniversary programs. Visitors can purchase an Encounter, Experience, and Explore Pass to enjoy Grace Farms from opening until 1:30 pm, to:
- View Grace Farms’ first permanent sculpture by acclaimed artist Alicja Kwade; new artwork from photographer James Florio; and the next iteration of With Every Fiber exhibit
- Encounter new seating, designed by SANAA, in the Plaza
- Hear talks by photographer James Florio and artist Hannah Rose Thomas to learn about their art and process
- Experience music by acclaimed Canadian cellist and Grace Farms artist-in-residence Arlen Hlusko in the Plaza
- Take a nature walk to enjoy the fall vistas
- Enjoy pop-up talks about Grace Farms’ architecture and landscape with the Grace Farms Education Team
- Taste Grace Farms Tea through unique tea experiences
Visitors can add to this half-day experience to enjoy Conversation & Music | A Decade of Peace at Grace Farms, which will take place between 2-4 pm. In this portion of the day, visitors will:
- Hear from Sharon Prince, Kazuyo Sejima, and Ryue Nishizawa as they discuss Grace Farms with Toshihiro Oki
- Experience Music by acclaimed Canadian cellist and Grace Farms artist-in-residence Arlen Hlusko in the Sanctuary
- Enjoy a featured performance by GRAMMY® Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell
The day will conclude with a sunset benefit dinner in Grace Farms’ Commons that features a culinary experience with creative direction by Peter Callahan.
** MORE PROGRAMMING DETAILS BELOW **
Full Descriptions Available on Grace Farms’ 10 Year Program page
2025
September 11: Mocktails with Grace Farms Pastry Chef and Educator Leah Jones
September 13: Alicja Kwade: ParaPosition at Grace Farms
September 13: Nature Workshops by Kimberly Kelly | Slow Flower Bouquets
September 19: Afternoon Tea
September 20: Move with Grace Farms x lululemon
September 20: Guided Nature Walk | Tree Walk
September 20: Member Day at Grace Farms
September 26: Lunch with a Purpose | Citizens of Humanity & west~bourne
September 27: Origin Story: Grace Farms Tea & Coffee with Adam Thatcher
September 27: Guided Nature Walk | Birdwatching
October 1: Guided Fairtrade Coffee Tasting | International Coffee Day
October 4: Guided Nature Walk | Birdwatching
October 11: 10 Year Celebration
October 11: With Every Fiber | New iteration unveiling
October 25: Guided Nature Walk | Tree Walk
November 1: The Way of an Athlete | A Special Event with Kerri Walsh Jennings
November 1: Aldrich Museum Tour for Grace Farms Members
November 6: Mocktails with Grace Farms Pastry Chef and Educator Leah Jones
November 8: Rest House Workshop with Slade Architecture
November 8: Nature Workshops by Kimberly Kelly | Garlic Workshop
November 14: Afternoon Tea
November 15: Move with Grace Farms x lululemon
November 16: Music at Grace Farms: Mon Rovîa
November 19: Journey into the World of Tea
November 28 and 29: Songs of the Season
December 3: Candlelit Yoga and Movement with Pilin Anice
December 5: Gifting for Good
December 7: Cookie Decorating with Grace Farms Pastry Chef and Educator Leah Jones
December 12: Afternoon Tea
December 13: Music at Grace Farms: Broadway Inspirational Voices
December 13: Nature Workshops by Kimberly Kelly | Sustainable Holiday Décor
December 17: Journey into the World of Tea
December 20: Move with Grace Farms x lululemon
December 27 and 28: Songs of the Season
December 31: Wellness Tea Retreat
2026
Jan-May (monthly): Move with Grace Farms x lululemon & Yoga Series
January 10: Sharon Prince Delivers Inaugural Grace Farms Lecture
January 10: Rest House Workshop with Slade Architecture
January 11: Yo-Yo Ma, cello and Solon Gordon, piano
January 16: Afternoon Tea
January 22: Origin Story: The Empowerment Collective with Nasreen Sheikh
January 28: Journey into the World of Tea
January 29: Mocktails with Grace Farms Pastry Chef and Educator Leah Jones
January 30: Humanity in Architecture Film Festival Reception for Grace Farms Members
January 30 and 31: Humanity in Architecture Film Festival
January 31: Rest House Workshop with Slade Architecture
February 7: Grace Farms Lectures | Miroslav Volf
February 7: Life Worth Living Workshop led by Drew Collins, Yale Center for Faith & Culture
February 7: Nature Workshops by Kimberly Kelly | Seed Starting
February 13: Afternoon Tea
February 20: Cookie Decorating with Grace Farms Pastry Chef and Educator Leah Jones
February 21: Music at Grace Farms | Arlen Hlusko, cello
February 25: Journey into the World of Tea
February 28: Wellness Tea Retreat
March 5: Origin Story: Prota Fiori with Jennifer Stucko
March 7: Grace Farms Lectures | Robin Wall Kimmerer
March 12: Mocktails Grace Farms Pastry Chef and Educator Leah Jones
March 13: Afternoon Tea
March 14: Nature Workshops by Kimberly Kelly | Ecological Landscaping Series – Introduction to Permaculture
March 18: Journey into the World of Tea
March 26: Design for Freedom Summit
April 10: Afternoon Tea
April 11: The Ma Within Architecture
April 11: Nature Workshops by Kimberly Kelly | Ecological Landscaping Series – Hügelkultur
April 18: Music at Grace Farms | Dianne Reeves with Romero Lubambo
April 25: Earth Day
April 29: Journey into the World of Tea
May 7: Lunch with a Purpose
May 9: Shop with a Purpose | Mindful Market
May 15: Afternoon Tea
May 24: Wellness Tea Retreat
May 27: Journey into the World of Tea
Weekly Children and Family Programs
Imagination Playground – Daily
Bunny Book Group – Fridays, 11 – 11:30 am
Studio Beginnings – Thursdays beginning January 9, 10 am – 12 pm
Open Arts Studio – Thursdays, 3 – 5 pm; Saturdays, 10 am – 2 pm
Tours
Grace Farms Tour – Saturdays, 10:30 am – 12 pm
Private Architecture Tours – Tuesday – Friday, 10:30 am – 12:45 pm
