Part 3 – 32 Farmers: Works and Statements (2003)

Published in the booklet Antfarm Decade to commemorate our first 10 years. Only the statements are shared here. Taking a photo with my phone from the small photos of the work in the catalogue wouldn’t have done it justice. Check out the Roster to see former antfarmers and any available links to their work.

ALLISON BENNER FELTON
33, Richmond, Virginia
July 1993-August 1994

It was in high school that I first fell in love with photography. I found solace in a class with a bubbly teacher and a dark-room. It was my escape. It was how I could hide on a bad hair day (it was 1984 there were many!). I could hide behind a camera but still be part of the world around me. I could cope with the stress of being the new kid in a huge school. I could create without having to display my work on an easel in the middle of the classroom. I was in love.

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Part 2 – 32 Farmers: Works and Statements (2003)

Published in the booklet Antfarm Decade to commemorate our first 10 years. Only the statements are shared here. Taking a photo with my phone from the small photos of the work in the catalogue wouldn’t have done it justice. Check out the Roster to see former antfarmers and any available links to their work.

BRAD WATKINS
33, Raleigh, North Carolina
from the very first thought-December 1995

It’s interesting what can become of ideas. Or how one motivation can lead to something much greater. Ten years ago (has it really been ten years?) my very selfish needs for a large studio space became what has been laughingly labeled my “brain-child”-the Antfarm. After graduating from the School of Design, I discovered I couldn’t afford a space by myself. I thought about asking some friends if they would be interested in getting a large studio together. We met, and they were.

Part 1 – Acknowledgments and Reflections… (2003)

Published in the catalogue Antfarm Decade to commemorate our first 10 years

These are the opening pages of the catalogue, the exhibition, in celebration of antfarm’s first ten years, was held at the NCSU Gallery of Art & Design August 13-September 28, 2003.

The antfarm, an artists’ cooperative, models a way in which young artists can unite to support each other through the arduous process of becoming established in their respective fields.

Growing Up (2003)

GROWING UP BY DAVE WOFFORD, 2003
PUBLISHED IN THE BOOKLET ANTFARM DECADE TO COMMEMORATE OUR FIRST 10 YEARS

I joined antfarm in the summer of 96–which meant that I benefited a great deal from the energy put into the building by many friends in the three years prior (including Ray and Chris moving the first of the letterpresses into antfarm while I was still at Penland). By the time I became a member, antfarm was almost three years old and had actually become a fairly stable concept with a sound infrastructure (though the roof still leaked like a sieve).

New Farmers (2003)

BY DAN METZ, 2003
PUBLISHED IN THE CATALOGUE, ANTFARM DECADE TO COMMEMORATE OUR FIRST 10 YEARS

By the time I arrived on the antfarm scene, in the spring of 1994, most of the original members had moved on or were in the process of leaving. While lining up to include pieces in the Yearly Artists’ Hanging in the City Gallery of Contemporary Art in Raleigh, I ran into Heath Satow. I was looking for a space and Heath told me about his group studio, antfarm. After we raced into the gallery and claimed our spots for the show, we drove over to the warehouse in Boylan Heights so I could get a look. That day was one of the major turning points in my twenty-five-year quest of procrastination versus desire to make paintings.

antfarm Timeline 1993 – 2023 and beyond?

*This is not a complete timeline, please comment or email us to add an event, or use this google form to submit materials. We’d love to see your photos, exhibition flyers, awards, all of it! The first ten years are based on the timeline printed in the “antfarm decade” booklet published in 2003.

Early Days (2003)

Early Days by Chris Alexander, 2003
published in the booklet Antfarm Decade to commemorate our first 10 years

The rundown warehouse at 303 Kinsey Street was once a hidden and forgotten part of Raleigh’s past. A haven for the homeless and an eyesore to the community, the building was about to experience a true renaissance when Brad Watkins stumbled upon it in the summer of 1993. Brad and I, and six other aspiring artists and recent graduates from the School of Design at North Carolina State University, were looking for a space. A space that, through a common vision, would allow us to explore the principles and skills we had forged throughout our education and put them to practice. 303 Kinsey Street was that perfect space. Despite its neighborhood repute and descent toward condemnation, we began working feverishly to draw up a rental agreement and begin the mountainous task of bringing the building back to life.