Kickstarter

Cultivate is a festival of contemporary dance performance I created in order to ease my loneliness for my art kin after I moved to rural NH a few years ago.  A grass-roots effort, intended to nourish and support community by creating a space for contemporary dance to take root, develop and flourish, Cultivate enlivens the field by bringing cutting edge dance and performance to an area of the country that might not otherwise have access to it and encouraging a conversation to develop between artist and audience.

The idea is simple.  Transform loneliness into a longing that motivates by inviting a group of artists who make beautiful, compelling, independent, gritty and important work to visit you in the White Mountains.  Give them a beautiful space to share their art, and the chance to meet other artists, makers and thinkers.  Then invite everyone you know to come be a part of it.  Infuse the community with the energy and abundance generated by all of this of making and sharing by creating opportunities for artists and audiences to meet, linger and mingle.  Take care of artists in ways they don't always encounter in their daily lives and, in doing so, take care of the community in ways that will continue to inspire, support and nourish long after the artists leave town.

Two full days of workshops, performances, spontaneous community events, shared meals and plenty of opportunities for a deep dialog to emerge.  August 19-21, 2011.

All of this is possible, in part, because of the generous spirit of the many artists and community members involved. More than 20 dance makers, musicians and designers are traveling from all over the country to make this magical event happen.  And the dozens of folks here in NH freely their giving time and resources form the fertile soil that supports the festival from the ground up. 

But I need your help to really pull this off!  The money raised in this campaign will pay the artists' performance and teaching honoraria, as well as their room and board during the festival.  It will also help me advertise and promote Cultivate to the wider community of Northern New Hampshire New England and beyond, and pay for all the little things no one ever thinks about, like renting a dance floor, and linens for the dorm at the White Mountain school where all the students and artists will spend the weekend.  And, it will also help me keep the class fees and ticket prices affordable, so that as many people can take advantage of what Cultivate has to offer them as possible.

Anything you can give will help me make Cultivate a reality. Every little bit helps, and means so much to me, and my community.

Thank you for caring enough to read this far.  Thank you for all that you do in your own lives, in your own communities, to make the world a better place.  On behalf of the entire community of Cultivate, I thank you for your support. 

Warm greetings from the White Mountains :)

Come visit sometime!

Katherine Ferrier

The artists of Cultivate include:

Analia Allegre-Femenias (Iowa/ Puerto Rico)
Katherine Keifer Stark (Philadelphia, PA)
Selene Colburn (Burlington, VT)
Paul Benney (Brooklyn, NY)
Pamela Vail (Lancaster, PA)
Katherine Ferrier (Bethlehem, NH)
Vicki Brown (Tucson, AZ)
Amy Barr (Iowa City, IA)
Kathy Couch (Northampton, MA)
Rebecca Bryant (West Lafayette, IN)
Don Nichols (West Lafayette, IN)
Olase Freeman (Providence, RI)
Kathryn McNamara (Providence, RI)
Sara Smith (Amherst, MA)
Sarah Baumert (Boston, MA)
Kitty Clark (West Virginia)
Amanda Hamp (Decorah, IA)
Tori Lawrence (Philadelphia, PA)
Emily Anderson (North Conway, NH)
Arthur Fink (Portland, ME)