BE A RURAL SCHOLAR (and get a print):
We need your support for 2024.
Make a gift of $200 or more and we will send you this limited edition print, a collaboration of Matthew Regier and Ian Huebert. You will also receive the satisfaction of knowing that you are officially a “Rural Scholar.”
The support of last year’s Rural Scholars helped us:
install a new septic system
install a new roof over the gymnasium
refinish the hardwood floors in two classrooms
replace two exterior doors and rebuild frames
pay the utility bills and insurance premiums
support the programming, maintenance, and everything else needed to continue and advance our mission
Upcoming projects include:
heating for the gymnasium
heating and cooling options for the classrooms
custom, built-in bookshelves for the library
This gift print is a collaborative design featuring a hand-carved block by Matthew Regier and letterpress text on a 9.5” x 13” sheet of Rives BFK Heavyweight paper. It was printed on a Vandercook proofing press by Ian Huebert at The Picture Press in Iowa City, IA and is signed by both artists. Please allow 1-2 months for delivery. For tax-deductible purposes the print should be valued at $75.
Ben Cosgrove in Concert, Nov. 11 at 7:00
Ben Cosgrove is returning to The School with a new album, Bearings, featuring music about the prairie that he composed during his residencies at Matfield Green (Tallgrass) and Volland.
Ben is a composer and pianist who explores landscapes through highly original instrumental music. He has performed in 49 states and created music for multiple national parks, NASA, and a new Ken Burns documentary, The American Buffalo. Ben was recently featured in the Boston Globe where he is described as a "sonic plein air painter. . . (using) his piano as a paintbrush."
"Tickets" will be by donation at the event, we recommend a minimum of $20 with proceeds going directly to the artist. The building may be a little chilly depending on weather, please dress warmly. We will provide warm drinks (tea, cocoa) and popcorn.
In addition to being "stupidly talented" (Red Line Roots), Ben is a wonderful human being with a palpable love of the land that is transferred through his music. Sample his work at his website and join us on November 11.
Saturday, October 7: Tallgrass Artist Residency Fall Gathering
It is a time for the annual Tallgrass Artist Residency Fall Gathering.
The School will be serving Supper from 5:30-6:30 including chili made with local vegetables and grass-fed beef from Homestead Ranch (donated by Jane Koger) with cheddar from Grazing Plains Farm, salad of local greens and Grazing Plains Feta, with homemade cookies and bars for dessert.
Suggested donation is $15, all proceeds go to continued renovations and maintenance at The School. See the Full Schedule of Events Here
September 23: Jesse Nathan reads Eggtooth
At 3pm on Saturday, September 23, at The School, Jesse Nathan will read from his debut collection of poems, Eggtooth, forthcoming in September from Unbound Edition Press. Nathan’s poems have appeared in The New York Review of Books, The Paris Review, The Kenyon Review, and The New Republic.
“Brilliant and Unexpected. . . made out of an intense, sensual sense of place.” -Robert Hass
“Eggtooth is one of the newborn wonders of the world.” -Katie Ford
“A brilliant rethinking of what making a poem is.” -Frank Bidart
“The Gerard Manley Hopkins of the 21st century.” -Major Jackson
Nathan came of age on the farm after his family moved from Northern California to Central Kansas. “Many of the poems draw on my experience growing up on a wheat farm . . . the son of a Jewish father and a Mennonite mother,” Nathan said. “I have a sense of being both of that place and, in other ways, a stranger to it.
Jesse Nathan is a founding editor of the poetry series at McSweeney’s and teaches at UC Berkeley. He lives in Oakland, California.
The School is collaborating with Flint Hills Books and copies of Eggtooth will be available for purchase at the event. A reception with light refreshments will follow the reading.
August 4 at Sundown: Movie on the Green
Join us on Friday just before sundown for our fourth annual “Movie on the Green.” This year we will be showing the 1987 adventure comedy, The Princess Bride. Bring a chair and a beverage; we’ll provide popcorn, water and lemonade.
RURAL FIBER: Mending and Making as Creative Practice.
April 22: 12:00-5:00, Panel at 3:00 with Reception Following. . .
Join us for an exhibition and panel discussion with three fiber artists/makers. Shin-hee Chin is a fiber and mixed media artist whose work has been exhibited all over the world, including the International Quilt Museum and the Clinton Presidential Center in this past year. Her work has received numerous “Best of Show” awards and been featured in various publications. Ten pieces drawn from her ongoing series “Grassland” will be on display at The School.
Michelle Wolfe is a quilt artist living in Matfield Green and Overland Park. She and her husband, Don Wolfe, a photographer, share the studio, Wolfe Works, outside of their home in Matfield. Michelle is designing eight custom quilts to be donated to The School for beautification and sound absorption in the gymnasium.
Chase County resident, Bria Fleming’s experience as a wildland firefighter led her to start her own custom sewing business, Incidental Wildland, designing fire-resistant clothing for firefighters out in the field. Her sewing studio is in the east classroom at The School.
The panel discussion will explore the significance of sewing and fiber works in in a rural context, both traditionally and today. Sewing and quilting offers an unique perspective on questions of aesthetics given the obvious functionality of the medium. The panelists will discuss the relationship of their work to place and the potential of their craft to foster a culture of attention, care, and collective belonging to the neighbor and the land.
Live music and refreshments will follow at the end of the panel. The exhibition is on view through June 10 and can be viewed on Thursday afternoons from 1:00-5:00, Saturday mornings from 8:30-12:00, or by appointment.
Become a Rural Scholar: Support The School and get a print.
Make a Donation of $200 or more and we will send you a limited edition print by Matthew Regier (and make you an honorary Rural Scholar).
This limited edition, four-color linocut is printed on 8.5” x 11” Japanese Mulberry paper and is entitled “Windhover.” Simply make your donation and include a mailing address and we will send you the print. Every donation is critical in helping us continue restoring the building and expanding our work. Please allow 1-2 months for delivery. The School is a 501c3 organization. (For tax-deductible purposes, the print should be valued at $75.)
View the AGRI/CULTURE panel video:
Watch or listen to our conversation with two farmers and two artists discussing cultural practices and rural vitality. (Alas, you cannot join the cheese tasting online). See the links below.
Click the following link to view the video on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_Rpx6gzey9DOkJExQboYRg (a small portion of the discussion is missing in the middle), or listen to the full audio below.
April 30: AGRI/CULTURE: Farmers and Artists on Cultural Practices for Rural Communities.
Exhibition from 12:00-5:00pm, panel discussion at 4:00pm.
Two farmers, Jane Koger and Jason Schmidt, discuss their farming practices and their love of the land while two artists, Ian Huebert and Matthew Regier, exhibit prints based on their observations of the prairie and their reflections on growing up in a farming community. The discussion will be followed by a reception and cheese tasting with cheeses from Glazing Plains Farm (Jason’s Dairy) and live music from Kelly Werts and friends.
Jane Koger is a fourth generation Chase County rancher. She lives off the grid at Homestead Ranch where she raises grass-fed beef and applies various sustainable practices aimed at maintaining the health of the prairie and preserving the habitats of prairie chickens and other Flint Hills wildlife.
Jason Schmidt is the fifth generation to dairy on his farm Southeast of Newton, KS. Jason started Grazing Plains Farm, moving the family dairy towards a more grass-based diet with Jersey cows. In response to low milk prices, they opened the creamery in 2019, making and selling artisan cheeses on site including Cheddar, Harvati, Feta, Tilsit, Fromange Blanc and others.
Ian Hubert is an artist, printmaker and designer in Iowa City. After earning an MFA from the University of Iowa Center for the Book in 2017, he started The Picture Press, a studio for woodcut and letterpress printing. Ian grew up in the small farming community of Henderson, Nebraska and his recent prints explore the relationship of industrial agriculture to the rural landscape.
Matthew Regier is an artist/printmaker in Matfield Green. His work is based on personal observations of the prairie ecosystem, particularly the way in which profiles of naturally-occurring plant species can communicate information about the health and distinctiveness of small patches of land. Matthew and his wife, Tia, co-founded The School for Rural Culture and Creativity in 2019 and have lived in Matfield Green since 2015. Matthew also grew up outside of Henderson, Nebraska on a corn farm.
This event is free to the public.
The School is now a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization.
Activity at The School slows down over winter, but we are happy to report that we recently received our tax-exemption letter and The School is now a 501(c)(3). (Psst: Your donations are now tax-deductible.)
A good day and a successful fundraiser:
After our matching gift, we raised roughly $25,000 for renovations on our June 19 event! This is a big step for us as we continue to renovate the building and develop new projects. We are currently getting quotes and exploring ways to affordably and sustainably heat/cool the building.
We want to express our very sincere thanks to everyone who attended the event, donated art, played music, made donations or purchases, helped promote the event, donated used items, or contributed time and work. Thanks also to Sandie and Rachel for the pie and Southfork Smokestack for the food and to the whole Matfield Green community for their support. And thanks to Third Coast for the matching gift and moral support.
June 19, 2021: Summer Event and Fundraiser
We are having our first ever fundraiser event from 8:00am-5:00pm on Saturday, June 19. Here is what we have planned:
A group exhibition and sale of donated art by Laura Berman, Lisa Grossman, Don Wolfe, Dave Leiker, Kelly Yarbrough, Mary Gordon, Diana Werts, Dale Hartley, Matthew Regier, Kirsten Furlong, and William Lewis. These works will be displayed in The School’s hallway gallery. (Works pictured above by Laura Berman, Lisa Grossman, Don Wolfe and Mary Gordon)
A rummage sale (in the gym) of quality used items, vintage curiosities, and lots of other useful and/or unusual treasures.
Breakfast and lunch offered by the Southfork Smokestack food truck.
Homemade pie for sale by local expert, Sandy Phipps.
Live music.
Activities for kids.
All of the proceeds from the art and the rummage sale will go to the ongoing renovations and maintenance of the The School and particularly towards the installation of a new heating system as the building still has no operative heating/cooling.
And all funds raised from the event will be matched by our partnering organization, Third Coast Activist Resource Center.