Farmstead Arts Center Is Finding New Ways To Reach Patrons

BASKING RIDGE, NJ—Before March, Farmstead Arts Center was bustling with activity. Concerts, performances, classes, and even lectures were held at the historic facility in Basking Ridge.

“We were sold out all the time,” said Ann Rosenblum, president of the arts center, which stands on the historic Kennedy Martin Stelle Farm on King George’s Road. “Things were taking off, the studios were full.”

When the pandemic began, the Center closed for onsite activities, but Rosenblum knew the people who performed and learned there would still need a creative connection and outlet. So she and some of the artists decided to start virtual art classes.

“We went into retrenchment mode," Rosenblum said, "we had to figure out budgets and had to make changes to staff and hours. Went did a lot of research to figure out how we can adapt to this.”

The result was a hybrid of virtual and outdoor onsite programs that the Center's patrons loved, primarily because it's a creative outlet that can be done safely from home.

"We had seven classes, each 3-6 weeks in length, and had over 30 students attend virtually on Zoom," Rosenblum said. "The art studio is really what kept us going."

Rosenblum said the Center recently hosted an outdoor painting event with the Garden State Watercolor Society, and The Potters Guild of New Jersey will hold a virtual show and exhibit next month. Despite the difficulties, Rosenblum said that the pandemic has forced the Center to adapt and become more tech-friendly, and also opened up new possibilities.

"We are open to some new avenues that we maybe wouldn't have been before," she said. “Of course, we would rather be open because as a historic site run by a nonprofit, we can't survive like this forever. But in the meantime, Covid has forced us to 'up' our virtual game."