ArtCrop is a project created by Oskar Ly, in collaboration with Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA), aimed to address some of the root causes that Hmong farmers are facing while testing a community supported art share model with Hmong artists as workers to support their respective alternative economy. ArtCrop will host a series of three community dinners and one culminating art installation on the cooperative farm located in Hastings, MN this summer. Over the dinners, farmers will share experiences on current conditions and future aspirations of their livelihoods. The themes that emerge will be documented into a mural-style tapestry and the process will serve as inspiration to create original contemporary Hmong art to be piloted in 50 HAFA CSA (community supported agriculture) 2017 holiday shares.
HAFA Farm is located in Hastings, MN in Dakota County, and has 17 farmers members (and their families) working on the land. Farmland is not available in Ramsey County, where most of the farmers live among the second largest concentration of Hmong people in the country. In conversations with HAFA over the years, Hmong farmers have indicated that they feel a sense of disempowerment; society treats them as disposable, illiterate and unskilled. With Ly having a great deal of experience working with artists, and HAFA with farmers, they have found many similarities between the two groups, particularly that they are resilient as creative problem solvers and cultural bearers.
About the artist:
Oskar Ly is a Hmong French American multi-disciplinary artist, organizer and cultural producer. Her approach is informed through immersing herself in processes and with communities to seek out authentic narratives. Ly focuses on creating community space through facilitated conversations, shared meals, curating and designing experiences that emphasize culture as a cornerstone, in geographic and identity-based communities.
Learn more and connect:
www.artcrop.co | ArtCrop on Facebook
www.oskarlyart.com | Oskar Ly on Facebook
www.hmongfarmers.com | HAFA on Facebook
