About this project

Harold Arts is a Chicago-based 501(c)3 organization dedicated to cultivating opportunities for emerging and mid-career artists. Among other things, Harold Arts puts on an annual artists-in-residency program, emphasizing exploration across artistic disciplines through collaborative relationships. Each year, hundreds of artists and musicians from all over the world converge on a tree farm in Southeastern Ohio for the residency, and each year, they've done a lot of music recording...previously in a converted barn. This year, we've decided to build our recording studio inside what used to be an indoor swimming pool. We think this will be awesome, and we need your help.
(this will be a recording studio. really.)

The idea is to put the live room (the area where the musicians perform) inside the 20 by 40 foot concrete pool itself. Essentially, we are going to have to build a floor which covers the concrete floor of the pool (and deals with the change in height from the deep end to the shallow end.) Then, we will have to follow one of several plans we are developing with the team of producers and engineers who will be running the music program at this year's residency. One idea is to build an "A-frame" roof and walls over and around the entire pool area, creating a sort of house-in-a-pool-in-a-house. This plan would allow us to deal with the sonic environment in a more precise way, and would also look very strange, and cool.

Another plan is to create a more modular environment...building large, mobile baffles around the pool, along with a system of movable "clouds" hanging from the ceiling to deal with upward reflections. A pulley system would provide unique opportunities for microphone placement.

(for a generous pledge of $500, you can draw with Kelly Kaczyinski)

The planning is ongoing, but the idea is to head out to the farm and build it in what should prove to be a very exciting two weeks in June, right before our 2010 residency begins. Once it's built, it will serve our residents, engineers and producers in 2010 and beyond. Each year, as we have in the past, our engineers and producers will work together after the residency to put together an LP featuring highlights of that year's music. Everyone who attends our 2010 residency, and future residencies, will have the opportunity to record music (or whatever sort of sound they like) in the studio that your pledge will help us create.

At first, this seemed crazy to us, and it may seem crazy to you. But this building was available, on the property, and has been unused and in disrepair for years. We don't want or need a functional indoor swimming pool. We do need a recording studio. We're not sure if anyone has tried to do something like this before, and that makes us want to do it even more. We believe that the completed studio will be unlike any other... an inspiring environment for our musicians and artists to do their work in. We've found that the engineers we're working with are, like most engineers, excited to have the chance to solve the unique problems a space like this presents, and they're excited about some of the unique advantages a space like this offers as well.

We'd like your support. The people who are helping us need to be paid. Much of the gear we use to record each year is graciously lent to us by our engineers, but much of it needs to be purchased as well. We are a 501c3 not-for-profit organization, so your contribution is tax deductible. We have some exciting gifts to offer as well.

We plan on updating this page frequently with updates on our planning and construction so check back soon.

Help us make our pool party a reality!

haroldarts.org

(for a generous $300 pledge, David More will make your sound portrait)

Harold Arts Residency Program 2010

The Harold Arts Residency Program is an opportunity for artists and musicians to further their artistic goals and interact with like-minded individuals in a pastoral environment. Situated in the Appalachian foothills of Southeastern Ohio on the grounds of the Jeffers Tree Farm, the Harold Arts Residency Program provides a remote location with shared and individual studio facilities, comfortable accommodations, and chef-prepared meals. Throughout each 11-day session, residents are offered a forum to develop new work alongside their contemporaries while enjoying lectures, performances, and workshops presented by our staff and visiting artists. Harold Arts aims to foster exchange and dialogue across artistic disciplines while offering a platform for the production and dissemination of new works.

Attending the annual residency program opens the door to an array of opportunities for both artists and musicians. Musicians attending the residency will have the chance to collaborate with our staff of professional engineers in producing an annual compilation record, in addition to other projects administered by our creative partners, Captcha Records, Sundmagi Records, and Vosotros. Visual artists attending the residency will find themselves within a matrix of working artists and cultural producers, devising curatorial projects to be deployed nationally throughout the year. All residents are also invited to participate in our annual multimedia arts festival, Harvest, located in Chicago each fall. New to the residency are two thematic sessions, led in partnership with DFLux and threewalls.