MoCA Westport and the Westport Farmers’ Market (WFM)  announce a new collaboration that will culminate in an exhibition entitled Between the Ground  and the Sky on view August 27 – September 18, 2021.  

Between the Ground and the Sky will feature photography from the Who Grows Your Food initiative, an intimate photographic journey celebrating the beloved farms and farmers  associated with the Westport Farmers’ Market. 

A Family Day featuring a range of farm-related activities will be held on Saturday, September  11 from 12 - 4 p.m. Explore the exhibition, enjoy delicious offerings from the Parlor, Bees Knees, and On The Fly food trucks, and listen to multi-instrumentalist Henry Jones. Tickets will  be available for purchase on the MoCA Westport website (mocawestport.org) and the WFM  website (westportfarmersmarket.com) as of August 1 for $10 per adult and $5 per child.  

The centerpiece of the exhibition is more than 50 large-scale photographs, both color and black  and white, of local farms by Anne Burmeister and Ashley Skatoff, two local accomplished  photographers. The photographs tell a compelling and visually arresting story of the importance  of local farms and farmers. The Who Grows Your Food initiative was developed by the Westport  Farmers’ Market during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic as a means to educate  people on the role that local farmers play in providing food for the community.

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The farms included are:  

• Calf and Clover Creamery, Cornwall Bridge, CT 

• Copps Island Oysters, Norm Bloom and Son, Norwalk, CT 

• Dirt Road Farm, Weston, CT 

• Fort Hill Farm, New Milford, CT 

• Gilbertie’s Organics, Easton, CT 

• Ideal Fish, Waterbury, CT 

• Lost Ruby Farm, Norfolk, CT 

• Muddy Feet Flower Farm, Ashford, CT• Ox Hollow Farm, Roxbury, CT 

• Riverbank Farm, Roxbury, CT 

• Rose’s Berry Farm, Glastonbury, CT 

• Sankow’s Beaver Brook Farm, Old Lyme, CT 

• Sea Coast Mushrooms, Mystic, CT  

• Sport Hill Farm, Easton, CT 

• Stonington Kelp Co., Stonington, CT 

• The Hickories, Ridgefield, CT 

• Wells Hill Farm, Weston, CT 

• Woodland Farm, Glastonbury, CT 

The exhibition will also include two site-specific installations by Kristyna and Marek Milde, and  the natural, organic works of artist Donna Forma.  

Kristyna and Marek Milde are a Brooklyn-based interdisciplinary artist duo originally from  Prague, Czech Republic. Their works explore environmental issues and the alienation of  contemporary lifestyles. In their art practice, they create installations, in-situ interventions, and  public art, functioning as immersive platforms for engagement and experience and connecting  culture and nature.

Donna Forma is a Southport, CT-based artist known for her deconstruction and reconstruction  of the components of deceptively simple natural forms, exposing the layers of complexity  hidden in plain sight all around us.  

Additionally, related works created by attendees of MoCA Westport’s Camp MoCA, a weekly  summer camp for ages 3-13, will be on view. As part of the camp curriculum, campers will  participate in a series of agriculture and gardening-related projects designed to build awareness  of, and appreciation for, the role of farming in our community.  

Lori Cochran, Director of the Westport Farmers’ Market, stated, “This program embodies the  essence of our organizations. Bringing together art, education, community and knowledge of  agriculture, featuring the hands that tend the land, results in more than a fun event - it creates  an impact that will last a lifetime. Working with Anne and Ashley through their journey of these  farms, it seemed only natural to find a home at MoCA Westport to share their stories.”  

MoCA Westport Executive Director Ruth Mannes said of the collaboration, “Our expansive  outside grounds are a perfect way to introduce our campers to agriculture and gardening. We  are thrilled to partner with the Westport Farmers’ Market to share this important aspect of our  economy and our lives with the public.” 

Between the Ground and the Sky will be on view during MoCA Westport’s Summer and Fall  2021 Hours: Wed - Sun (12 - 4 p.m.). To learn more about the exhibition, contact Liz Leggett,  MoCA Westport’s Director of Exhibitions, at liz@mocawestport.org or 203/222-7070. To learn  more about the Who Grows Your Food initiative, contact Lori Cochran, Director of the Westport  Farmers’ Market, at director@westportfarmersmarket.com. 

More About The Photographers 

Photographer Anne Burmeister is a farm kid from the Midwest. She has worked as an attorney  and advocate for food security on both Coasts, but always with a camera close at hand. This  project has allowed her to share her deep regard for farmers and the inherent beauty in their  labors. Anne lives in Westport with her family where she is also on the board at Wakeman  Town Farm.  

Ashley Skatoff is a photographer based in Westport, CT. She worked as a business consultant  in New York City prior to studying design at Parsons and starting a family. Largely self taught,  Ashley pursues projects that express an authenticity in humanity and nature.  

More About Donna Forma

Forma’s grandfather, a superb gardener, chemist and inventor, introduced her to the wonders  of nature at a young age. She started out as a traditional carver of stone and wood, and often  found herself transferring the beauty of human forms and rhythms with the natural world, and  vice versa. Many of her pieces have the feel of something you might come upon while walking.  They are types of shelters and hives, mimicking the human condition of what we do in life,  making us feel we are somewhat in control, but not completely, as we do what we can to  protect those we love. The National Sculpture Society elected her as one of only 179 Sculptor  members, and awarded her the Lantz Award for Contemporary Sculpture in the Traditional  Mode. Other awards include The Connecticut Commission on the Arts Fellowship, and top  prizes at many group shows. Solo exhibitions include OK Harris (NYC), Flinn Gallery (Greenwich),  Curtis Gallery (New Canaan), EBK Gallery (Hartford), and Five Points Gallery (Torrington). Her  sculptures can be viewed by appointment in her studio and gallery in Southport, CT. 

More About The Mildes 

Kristyna and Marek Milde are Brooklyn-based interdisciplinary artists duo originally from  Prague, Czech Republic. Their works explore environmental issues and alienation of  contemporary lifestyles. Mildes focus on deepening the awareness and relationship to place  both private and public to reveal the wider and hidden context of everyday reality. In their art  practice, they create installations, in-situ interventions and public art functioning as immersive  platforms for engagement and experience connecting culture and nature. 

The Mildes exhibit and present their work internationally in solo and group exhibitions  including at Gallery G18, Zlin, CZ (2019), Westbeth Gallery, NYC (2019), Queens Museum, NYC  (2018), Flux Factory, NYC (2018), Wave Hill, NYC (2017, 2014), Hudson Valley MoCA, Peekskill  NY (2016); Temple Contemporary, Philadelphia (2015), EFA Project Space, NYC (2015), Smack  Mellon Gallery, Brooklyn, (2014), Abrons Art Center, NYC (2013), DOX Center for Contemporary  Art, Prague, Czech Republic (2013), Meet Factory, Prague, CZ (2013), Museum of Modern Art  MoMA Studio, NYC (2012), Futura, Prague, CZ (2012), Karlín Studios, Prague, CZ (2012), Galerie  Califia, Horazdovice, CZ (2011), NURTUREart, NYC (2011). 

About the Westport Farmers’ Market 

In June of 2006, Paul Newman and Michel Nischan planted a seed and we opened our doors in  the parking lot of the Westport Country Playhouse. We were so proud of our 14 vendors, and  so grateful for the 500 shoppers who showed up to support us.

In 2009, we moved to our current home at 50 Imperial Avenue, a stone's throw from the  Saugatuck River. With a little more space and a little more air, we began to put down roots. We  started expanding our programming, and our role within the community. 

By 2010, we welcomed winter by expanding our market to cover the colder months, too.  Gilbertie’s Herb Garden embraced us with open arms, and before we knew it, the vendors and  shoppers had doubled. 

Today, boasting the accolade of the strictest guidelines in the state, the market is blooming  with 45 vendors! Food trucks, GMO free vendors, organic farmers, pizza, yoga, chef demos,  tamales, and an eager, hungry lunch crowd. We now welcome thousands of eager shoppers  every week. 

From the first seeds that were planted in 2006, we have grown, and blossomed. We remain  committed to our initial goals -- to provide fresh, local, healthy and seasonal food to our  community. And we continue to aspire to create a fun, safe and healthy community  environment that promotes education about local food, local farms, and sustainable, healthy  growing practices. 

About MoCA Westport 

MoCA Westport is a non-profit visual and performing arts organization that has been a  cornerstone of the Westport, Connecticut community for over 50 years. In 2019, MoCA  Westport underwent a significant expansion in order to bring extensive programming to the  local community and greater New York and New England regions. 

In addition to hosting contemporary art exhibitions and performing arts events, The Academy  at MoCA Westport provides academic, art enrichment, wellness, and day camps for children  and adult learners year round. 

MoCA Westport is thankful for the dedication of its generous donors and sponsors, including  the Artur and Heida Hermanns Holde Foundation, Inc.; Bank of America Museums on Us;  Beechwood Arts and Innovation; Bespoke Veterinary Services; Canine Company; Choice Pet;  Cohen and Wolf; The Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation; The Dale & Laura Kutnick Foundation;  Delamar Southport; Design Within Reach; Fairfield County Bank; 4th Row Films; First County  Bank Foundation; Fourth & Pride Vodka; The Girlfriend Fund; Goldman Sachs; IBM;  MediaCrossing; Daniel Edward Offutt, III; Provokr Inc.; SRI Fine Art Services; Wealthspire  Advisors; Wells Fargo Bank; Wildbloom Skincare; WMNR Fine Arts Radio; WPKN; WSHU Public Radio Group. MoCA Westport operates with the support of the Department of Economic and  Community Development, Connecticut Office of the Arts, which also receives support from the  National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.