ABOUTSplit Rock Wild Forest’s peak towers 1,000 feet above Lake Champlain in Essex County, New York. Split Rock is part of the Champlain-Adirondack Biosphere, which includes temperate coniferous and deciduous forests and large numbers of lakes, bogs, and freshwater wetlands.

Inspired by this grand habitat, artist and educator Jean Brennan and conservation organization The Eddy have developed Split Rock Arts—a residency that provides time and space for eco-artist to develop their practice surrounded by the natural beauty of the Adirondacks. Residents present public-facing events at local cultural venues or outdoor spaces during their stay.

Website photos taken by Betsy Bacot, Jean Brennan, Charlotte Eckebus, Catherine Seidenberg, and Marina “Heron” Tsaplina. 






MISSIONSplit Rock Arts seeks to…

  1. Expand the network of engaged citizens by connecting artists with conservationists, ecologists, and community members;
  2. Offer workshops, events, readings, exhibitions, performances, publications, etc., to encourage stewardship of wild spaces in Adirondack Park;
  3. Advocate for Split Rock Wildway Corridor — an effort to provide habitat connectivity from Lake Champlain to the Adirondack High Peaks;
  4. Honor Indigenous wisdom as essential to our time and recognize that the Champlain Valley is the unceded homeland of the Abenaki and Mohawk peoples;
  5. Celebrate the natural beauty of the region through the arts and further enliven the mission of existing local art organizations by expanding such offerings;
  6. Promote cultural vibrancy and ecotourism.


COMMUNITY

In addition to supporting artists’ practice, the residency creates opportunities for visiting artists and community members to connect through public-facing events, held at local cultural venues or outdoor spaces. These happenings are designed and coordinated by the artist in collaboration with Split Rock Arts. We are thankful to the following community partners for their support of our programming — Champlain Area Trails, Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts, Spirit Sanctuary, the Whallonsburg Grange, Elizabethtown Social Center, Lakeside School at Black Kettle Farm, and Whitcomb’s Arts.



SPLIT ROCK WILDWAY

With a warming climate and dwindling habitat for threatened animals, wildlife corridors provide migration and adaptation for animals and plants. The Split Rock Wildway provides habitat connectivity from Lake Champlain to the Adirondack High Peaks and Canada. It also offers open space for residents and visitors to connect with each other and the ecosystem and in this way, form truly sustainable natural and human communities. 
    The arts offer a playful approach to engage the public on this important environmental issue. Artist residents have walked an old-growth forest in the Saranac Lakes region with DEC foresters, conservationists, and academics; hiked with John Davis, Rewilding Institute Executive Director and Adirondack Council Rewilding Advocate, through Split Rock Mountain Wild Forest; and, attended events such as Adirondack Council's annual Forever Wild Day celebration. These gatherings allow for cross-pollination, invite future collaborations, and introduce artists to the stunning views, plants, and wildlife of the region.


JEAN BRENNAN

As an interdisciplinary artist, Jean Brennan works at the intersection between ecology, language and the body. Recurring themes include a fascination with atmospheric forces, plants, phenomenology, and color. Using the lyrical essay as method, she loosely assembles scientific research, historical and pop culture references with personal reflection, to explore our relationship to the natural world, interspecies dependency, and models of resiliency. She uses design to publish, archive, and visually score projects that may include installation, video, sculpture, and performance. Jean is a tenured adjunct Professor in the Graduate Communications Design Department at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, where she has developed curricula on ecological thinking in design and experimental publications. Jean splits her time between the Hudson Valley and the Adirondacks.
THE EDDY FOUNDATION

The Eddy Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that works to preserve open space for the welfare of people, plants, and animals. The Eddy collaborates with individuals and organizations to ensure that future generations can enjoy healthy and biodiverse landscapes. In the Adirondacks, The Eddy owns ~3000 acres of land and, along with others, is working to ensure a Split Rock Wildway corridor. 
    Pictured here are Eddy board member John Davis (Adirondack Council Rewilding Advocate and Executive Director of the Rewilding Institute) and artist resident Marina Tsaplina.