Coastal Roots Farm – To develop and implement an Incubator program for California-based Jewish performing artists that will empower them to create bold new works at the intersection of Judaism and the climate crises.

How did the Farm become involved with arts programming, and what inspired the creation of the Incubator program?

As Director of Jewish Life, I am helping the Farm become a hub for eco-spiritual inspiration, nourishment, and guidance. I came to this role as a cantor, climate coach, and experiential educator, and also as an actor and theater-maker. I knew that artistic creativity on the Farm would be a powerful force, and that in this era of ecological crisis, we need new stories to help us see anew, recommit to hope, and act with bravery. For this reason, in 2023, we launched Regenerate! Eco-Performance Fest, showcasing new works of Jewish/climate performance. With the Incubator project, the Farm expands from producing art to growing artists, fostering a cohort of Jewish/Climate performing artists from and for California who will put down roots in our land and learn to lead through their art.

What part of the project are you most looking forward to seeing come to life?

The Incubator curriculum is built on several assumptions: that artists grappling with food, farming, climate, and ecology will benefit from the support and intelligence of a cohort; that bold new works of art at the intersection of Judaism and climate require a particular kind of incubation; and that audiences attending these works yearn to be brought into connection with each other, which will happen via the “audience connections” part of the Incubator curriculum. So, what I’m most excited about is seeing how this curriculum plays out in real time! Our artists will breathe life into it, we will experiment together with what works best, and I’m confident that they will blow our minds!

What is your favorite piece of Jewish wisdom about the Earth or the environment?

Over and over, I return to Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav’s teaching, “If you believe that you can destroy, believe you can repair.” When our Farm was founded a decade ago, the soil of the area we now call our “food forest” was barren. Nothing would grow there. However, with intelligence, resources, and dedication, that sand has now become soil so rich it produces much of our 80,000 pounds of gorgeous, nutrient-dense produce. Such renewal is possible, all over the world. It begins with believing we have equal power to repair as we have, as humans, to destroy.