Founded in 2005, Crosshatch explores the intersections of farming, art, economy and ecology.
Crosshatch began because of co-founders Brad and Amanda Kik's shared belief that the arts and ecology are intertwined and essential to enriching community.
Mission
Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology builds strong communities through the intersections of art, farming, ecology and economy.
Vision
Crosshatch envisions communities that are grounded in place: where people connect through stories, music, art, shared work, and food, and where the economy and culture are rooted in restoration of the earth and its people.
“In this bioregion of lakes and woods, we have abundant opportunities to transform culture, crafts, and agriculture into activities ripe with distinction, function, and soul. The possibility of maturing as people and regenerating the beauty and character of our locale, for the sake of the seventh generation, and of all the living creatures who make this place a home, looms before us. Crosshatch’s programs are brilliantly apt to these worthy purposes: thoughtful, strategic, and eminently practical. Every bioregion should be so fortunate in its organizers.”
"The single most effective tool we can build is a tight-knit community, bound by trust, clear-eyed, courageous and humble. Such a thing cannot be planned for and will never be implemented by experts and with money. Such a thing is woven from what is at hand, slowly and with care, by the people in a place."
— Brad Kik, co-founder and co-director
Essays and articles
The Beehive Plan at Front Porch Republic
From Soil to Soul: Running an Alternative Non-profit excerpted from From Surviving to Thriving: Sustaining Artist Residencies at the Alliance of Artist Communities website
10 Ways to Revive Rural Communities
10 Ways to Connect Artists to Place + Where You At Quiz