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It was an emotional afternoon March 20 as Futurefarmers artists bid farewell to their week-long residency at the PCC Art Gallery, reflecting on their stay and the relationships established while on campus. Their presence was heavily felt, leaving a lasting impression on student collaborators and faculty organizers as they shared their thoughts on the impact of the Futurefarmers’ visit.To kick off the closing ceremony, Futurefarmers shared their finished project with art students and Pasadena community members inside the art gallery, displaying the ark while encouraging people to sit, stand or jump on it.

After reflecting on their visit, Futurefarmers showed a film documenting what the ark meant to students. One student described it as a “life vessel made from trash.” Another student said “something we threw away to decompose is going to help us,” while one student jokingly mentioned Steve Carrell in reference to his ‘Evan Almighty’ movie.

For many, however, the collective’s visit was a life changing encounter.

“This has been a transforming experience,” said Alex Kritselis, Dean of the Visual Arts and Media Studies Division. “This has been a wake up call to step out of what we usually do every day,” he added.

Students who participated were given an experience worth remembering and learned priceless lessons that transcend into daily life as well as their explorations in art.

“I learned valuable things about trust. There was an openness and freedom to ask anything; everyone had mutual respect,” said student collaborator Pam Pascual. “I learned to invest in people and not just machines. [This experience] was ineffably invaluable. It was amazing, eye-opening.”

“We all feel this was a super, super great experience,” said Michael Swaine of the Futurefarmers. “We’ve never had an experience with so much energy.”

For the Futurefarmers, unorthodoxy is common practice in their work. Yet their visit was unique since they enjoyed more freedom and trust than previous residencies, they said. Both issues were big concerns since they often came across disastrous incidents at other residencies.

“There have been other galleries that want something specific,” Swaine added. “PCC let us be ourselves and let the students be themselves; we were given free range.”

Amy Franceschini, founder of the Futurefarmers, wore a self-made belt composed entirely of newspapers around her waist and noted that the faith and trust in their art was the cornerstone of their experience.

“A lot of people want to know what you’re doing all the time [about the artwork], but PCC was trusting,” she said.

Capping off their residency, Futurefarmers presented PCC with their finished piece, ‘The Reverse Ark, Flotsam, and Jetsam,’ a collaborative effort of contemporary art made by Futurefarmers and eight PCC student collaborators to an audience composed of administrators and students. The work, made entirely with recycled material (the empty bottles of water used in their piece were collected from PCC’s campus), aimed to bring about social awareness of the environment.

“Their visit created a platform that faculty and students have experienced that they can use in the future to explore art in life, and how it expresses itself,” PCC President and attendee Dr. Paulette Perfumo said. “[This experience] created a new vision for the Artist in Residence program here at PCC, and a whole new dimension for the art department to contemplate in the future.”

Stijn Schiffeleers, the third member of Futurefarmers, broke down in mid-sentence in his goodbye speech. Overcome with emotion, Schiffeleers stumbled over his words.

“The people and memories are in our brains; it’s burned in there,” he said.
Even Deena Capparrelli, co-organizer and professor for the Visual Arts and Media Studies Division, spoke with teary eyes to honor their visit.

“Futurefarmers have done more for our students than ever imagined,” Capparrelli said. “What happened here will never be repeated again.”

The Art Gallery will exhibit the Futurefarmers’ piece until April 26.

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