Wormfarm Institute

08/25/2026

Meet the Hay Rake Ballet Cast 🚜 Brian Markley is a third-generation family farmer who worked in dairy for many years before transitioning to raising cattle. Brian is grateful to be living and working in the place where he was raised.

Don't miss Brian September 12 as Lead Tedder in Hay Rake Ballet! Buy tickets! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1991469192965?aff=oddtdtcreator

📸
Image 1 & 5 Ron Lutz II
Image 2, 3 & 6 Sarah Gordon Butler
Image 4 Alex Arena

08/17/2026

Don’t miss your cue! Check out Sarah Gordon Butler's recent interview on the Yonder Radio podcast where she talks about all things Hay Rake Ballet. The interview on Spotify starts around the 24-minute mark: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5EwCHPJuV5BdIeIer8fDU8?si=7f50df1626534304

And don't forget to buy your tickets now for this premier agri/cultural event September 12! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1991469192965?aff=oddtdtcreator

We'll see you at the hay field!

07/29/2026

The Wormfarm team gathered for a workday in the garden, joined by artist residents Sarah Gordon Butler and Patricia Tinajero.

We trellised tomato and pepper plants, weeded herbs and onions, and harvested snap peas and fresh broccoli that Donna steamed for our shared lunch.

As is typical of conversations in the garden, topics ranged widely. We learned plenty about one another, talked about current projects, child rearing, synchronized swimming, and marveled at how stout baling twine actually is. A fruitful (or vegetal) day, indeed! 🌱🥦

07/23/2026

Friends, fellow artists, and family are invited to celebrate the life, art, and lasting impact of Muneer Bahauddeen on Saturday, July 25, from 2–5 p.m. at Amaranth Bakery, 3329 W. Lisbon Ave., Milwaukee.

Muneer’s passing is one of two significant losses in the Wormfarm community. We are also mourning John Dietz.

At first glance, John and Muneer could scarcely have been more different. Muneer was an artist and priest in a religion that grew from Yoruba traditions in West Africa, moved through Cuba into the Southeastern U.S. and up to the Great Lakes. John was a letter carrier and an elder in his local ELCA church.

Yet both embodied their faith fully, sincerely and explicitly. They were both members of active, profound faith communities that informed their behavior, and had a significant impact on the world around them.

Each of these individuals left their mark on Wormfarm. Our stories are tied together, and we are better people for having had John and Muneer in our lives.

Read our full tribute to them at https://www.wormfarminstitute.org/blog/muneer-and-john.

Wormfarm cultivates connections between our rural and urban neighbors through art, food, and the land by investing in our cultureshed.

07/22/2026

☀️ The summer is heating up at Wormfarm as resident artist Sarah Gordon Butler settles in for more than two months of work on the Hay Rake Ballet. Sarah is spending her days reconnecting, collaborating and rehearsing with local farmers to bring to life all the moving parts of Make Hay While the Sun Shines—a multi-act production featuring the Hay Rake Ballet, along with dance, live music, and more. Check out the link in our bio for tickets.

🌾 Julia Eichten will be joining as assistant choreographer and rehearsal director. She will arrive at the farm in August and help Hay Rake Ballet rise to its full potential.

Meet Sarah and Julia, and check out some of Sarah's past work!

Visuals
📷 Flowerhead no. 1 (2017). Headpiece/wearable sculpture created from wire, netting, and flowers. Photo: Skyler Greene.

📷 Genna (2022). Embroidered 35mm photograph.

📷 Sarah Butler directs the 2025 Hay Rake Ballet preview performance from a boom lift while Shawn Fitzgerald Ahern records.

🎥 Singing an original composition in the Wormfarm barn (2021).

07/19/2026

07/17/2026

🌾 We are an evolving laboratory for arts and ecology, seeding collaboration and watching it take root. Our programs exist because local businesses, community partners, and organizations of every size in the Midwest and beyond invest in the power of arts and culture to deepen our relationships with one another and the working landscape.

👏 Thank you to the following supporters for helping to cultivate the upcoming production of Make Hay While the Sun Shines featuring the Hay Rake Ballet:

Ruth Arts
Good Chaos
Educational Foundation of America
Arts Midwest
Cricket Design Works
Culver's
Compeer Financial
MJC MKTG
Hill and Valley Exploration Tour
Tankthink
Ritchie Implement, Inc.
Shade Haven
Wisconsin Farmers Union
Signature Steps Dance Studio

☀️ Now we invite you to be part of this unforgettable performance to celebrate the harvest and our connections to the land. Join us for Make Hay While the Sun Shines featuring the Hay Rake Ballet on Saturday, Sept. 12 (rain date Saturday, Sept. 26). Purchase tickets at wormfarminstitute.org. See you at the Hay Rake Ballet!

07/10/2026

👏 🎉 We are thrilled to announce that Wormfarm has been awarded the Warhol Curatorial Fellowship grant by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts for artist Austen Camille's flyway project, A Beak is a Bridge between Field and Flyway!

The project is a multi-year initiative that brings together artists, scientists, farmers, conservationists, rural and urban communities, and organizations along major bird migration routes (known as 'flyways’) through the North and South American continents. A series of locally-centered gatherings along the flyways will share knowledge and promote citizen science, art and culture.

07/06/2026

🌱 Resident artist Austen Camille Austen Camille along with fellows Tia Kramer Tia Kramer , Amanda Leigh Evans amanda leigh evans , and Mark Menjívar Mark Menjívar spent part of June on the farm cultivating their multi-year collaborative project "A Beak is a Bridge between Field and Flyway." The initiative aims to tie together artists, scientists, farmers, conservationists, rural and urban communities, and organizations along bird migration routes called ‘flyways.’

Listen to what Austen has to say about the project, and stay tuned for more on this exciting initiative! 🐦



🎥 credit: Mary Jane Conner Mary Jane Connor

06/30/2026

Save the date, and join us!

What: Decomposium, a three-day multidisciplinary symposium that explores the science, art, and rituals of decay and renewal through performance, installation and discussion rooted in themes of rot and repair, change and resilience.
When: October 9-11, 2026
Where: Park Hall (Freethinkers’ Hall) in Sauk City, Wis. with additional programming in the adjacent Freethinkers Park and a nearby cemetery.

We've curated a cohort of more than 20 collaborators, including artists, scholars, farmers, composers, soil scientists, poets, conservationists, and death workers. For more info on collaborators visit: https://www.wormfarminstitute.org/programs/current/decomp26

-Anand Pandian (Ecological Design Collective, Johns Hopkins University)
-Andra Olney-Larson(Casper Creek Natural Cemetery)
-Christopher Braddy
-Curt Meine
-Dustin Duve with Brenda Emerson + Maggie Balistreri (Natural Path Sanctuary)
-Kinnari Vora
-Laura Annis
-Lexi Ames + Worn Mantle
-Lia Purpura
-Maria Ångerman
-Marshall McDaniel
-Max Sorenson
-Meghan Allyn Johnson (Madison Death Studio)
-Mexican Folk Art Collective + Driftless Curiosity
-Nicholas Gulig + Colin Crowley with Diana Khoi Nguyen, Jane Wong + Lilly Lamm
-Omar de Kok-Mercado (Mad Agriculture)
-Paul Karner
-Roger Reynolds
-SSWIG (Sauk Soil + Water Improvement Group)
-Tsuzamen (Michael Bell, Samantha Bosco, Daniel Grabois, Meg Lamm, Eleanor Mayerfeld + Alina Plourde)
-Wrannock (Lisa Hartman, Mike Mossman + Angus Mossman) – plus a special appearance by Uncle Butzie the Vulture!

This project is supported in part by a grant from the Sauk County Economic Development, Arts & Culture Committee and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin, and through partnership with the Soil Health & Agroecological Living Lab (SHALL) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

📷 Image credit: Cricket Design Works