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Kingston Atelier Mission Statement

Mission Statement

The Kingston Atelier is a non-profit organization preserving the Princeton Nursery heritage by cultivating an art and nature community center.

Description

The Princeton Nursery Historic District will be the perfect home for the new Kingston Atelier and Culture Center, “The place where arts and nature thrive”.

The KAC center will be symbiotic with the Mapleton Preserve maintaining fields to support organic gardening, offering wild-crafting activities and sustainable sculpture. Leveraging the historical significance of Flemer’s innovations and vision, the Center, working with the Atelier’s Micro-farmers will have an ongoing educational, cultural and live entertainment series that will serve the local community and school systems as field trip and recreational destinations.

The Princeton Nursery bare-root storage complex is an ideal setting for artist studios which will include shared gallery space for exhibits and events. This would be developed through leadership and participation of former members of the Johnson Atelier, Trenton Atelier and the SAGE Coalition, as well as expanded to include the burgeoning arts and Agrisculpture market.

These buildings and the surrounding area will be a perfect showcase for an artist like Peter Soderman and his large scale installations ie. Quark Park,Writers Block and Herban Garden. This would be developed through leadership and participation of Local Artist and Enthusiasts, starving for opportunity, as well as expanded to include burgeoning arts and culture grassroots efforts.

Complimenting this would be permaculture, mycology and other innovative agriculture practices which are well suited for the bare-root storage buildings existing now.

This effort will be privately funded and self sustaining through studio and gallery rentals, as well as community fundraising events. Expected terms of agreement will be based repair and maintenance of property in exchange for space and along term commitment .

As founder and principle of the Trenton Atelier and HIVE, I have nearly 20 years of local Princeton/Trenton experience in organizing collaborative industrial, arts and culture centers. Prior to coming to Princeton , I ran a found object / metal fabrication shop and ran open studio tours in Brooklyn.

In 1997, I joined the Johnson Atelier at the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ. as an artist in residence at what was the largest independently operated arts foundry in the United States.There were over 100 artists that came to Trenton from all across the globe for the opportunity to be part of Johnson Atelier. Since 2007 when Seward Johnson significantly reduce staff and operations, this artistic community has dispersed throughout Mercer County.

Primary activities for the bare-root buildings and land:

Makerspace

Art studios and galleries (20,000 sq ft)

Micro-argiculture Indoor Grow Rooms (10,000 sq ft)

Organic farming/Permaculture (Accessible field area)

Community center for hands on artistic and cultural programs

(HS and University arts/culture programs)

Sculpture Park

Crowd sourced funding and an inaugural launch event this spring will raise year one funding.

We plan to have a phased occupation of the facilities with first focus on the

Inventory and Shipping building and the adjacent bare-root storage facilities. We would first professionally secure hazards and ensure safe occupancy, then restore power and water to those buildings. Most of the rehabilitation will be completed by the artists who will be establishing studios. This approach was very cost effective in the establishment of the Trenton Atelier, a dilapidated Trenton owned warehouse designated for demolition.