Sustainable Well-Being with Dan Colen—Sky High Farm, Skateboarding & Evolution of an Artist

Sustainable Well-Being is a special 5-episode series of Into the Well with host Ryan Willms, in collaboration with Allbirds and their community initiative, Allgood Collective. The episodes cover a variety of topics from regenerative farming and running, to cleaning up the oceans and dream interpretation. We dive in with deep with inspiring individuals that are co-creating a world of connection, growth and sustainable well-being for themselves, their community and for our planet.

On this episode Ryan speaks with artist Dan Colen, about his journey into the New York art scene, moving to the Hudson valley and starting a regenerative farm with the aim to provide nutritious food to those in need.

You can support Sky High Farms as a non-profit organization that is providing community, food and connection to those in need. Visit their GoFundMe page for more information and to donate to the cause.

“The trap of being an artist is ever thinking that is anything in particular. The point of an artist is to offer something unexpected, to offer something unknown, to offer something unwanted.”

— Dan Colen

SHOW NOTES

• 3:30 Dan’s childhood and growing up in New Jersey

• 9:00 Living in the middle of New York’s art scene with Ryan McGinley

• 15:00 How environment can effect Dan’s art and how to effect those elements

• 25:30 How being connected and sensitive can help an artist, but also be challenging

• 35:00 The initial process of coming to the land an envisioning the farm

• 42:00 Being inspired by social justice and truly giving back those in need

• 43:20 Bringing awareness to food justice with Dover Street Market project

• 49:00 Overcoming insecurity around farming, knowledge to be able to speak out more

• 55:00 We’re already a part of the agriculture industry, but we need to be more conscious

• 60:00 Strategic lack of access to nutrition for so many communities in America

• 64:00 Nuance to nutrition that is important to combat; not all lunch is created equal

• 71:00 Young people getting involved and originally reaching more people with jam and jelly

• 73:00 The farm has allowed for story telling and generating more awareness

• 78:00 Food insecurity post-Covid and the awareness it’s created

• 80:00 The process of integrating the farm work with the art practices in a new way

• 86:45 Dreams are an incredible way that we speak to ourselves and opportunity to self-correct

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