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Our Mission
Tilth Arts & Agriculture is a Blue Hill Maine based non-profit corporation that manages a 10.5 acre farm as a regional hub for arts and agriculture workforce and career development.
We launch programs and cultural events that practice a place based land ethic and support talent and innovators across education, entrepreneurship, arts, technology and agriculture.
Our Vision
Tilth is a community development organization, supported by our 501 c3 fiscal sponsor Fractured Atlas, that supports the overlap of regional arts and food system innovators to accelerate entrepreneurship and educational programs that demonstrate positive impact on our regional economy, community and natural systems.
PROGRAMS
TILTH ACCELERATOR PROGRAM
TILTH ACCELERATOR OVERVIEW:
The TILTH Accelerator is a year long business incubator program, that supports community leaders to hone their business concepts and explore critical audeices for their traction and co-financing models for their innovation relative to TILTH Arts and Agriculture’s mission. We are especially seeking to support programs and concepts that link arts programs with food systems, farmers and innovators who demonstrate leadership in cultural preservation, and cross-disciplinary problem solving in their work.
Business teams or individuals can be in any stage of their development but the program is especially designed to accelerate those who are looking to make a shift from part time to full time work on their concept. It’s most useful for those requiring commercial activity planning across food systems, agriculture, technology and arts and cultural disciplines in Blue Hill or remotely across Maine’s arts and agriculture economies.
Support for the Tilth Accelerator pilot in 2023 was provided by the American Rescue Plan Maine Project Grants a sub-granting program administered by SPACE Gallery for the National Endowment for the Arts.
PROGRAM DETAILS AND BACKGROUND:
The TILTH Accelerator program was developed by one of Tilth’s founding directors Billy Giordano in collaboration with arts and community development organization Engine in Biddeford, the University of Southern Maine and UMaine Orono’s Foster Innovation Center.
There are three beneficial components to participation:
1. a 10-14 week, 1.5 hour a week intensive business development curriculum designed for food systems and arts based career paths
2. a commercial residential and market operation option on at Tilth HQ, Fair Mount Farm, in Blue Hill
3. up to 100 hours of commercial project financial and business planning or fundraising for key workforce, research and design or infrastructure goals of your project.
Projects from participants must be aligned with with Tilth’s mission to be eligible. All projects are reviewed by our Board of Directors and all projects must be approved by official board vote.
Participants become contractors of Tilth and are entitled to a commercial address at Tilth Arts and Agriculture HQ, host events or markets, or work meetings and have priority access to farm, market and event spaces for their activity.
For more information or to inquire about our 2024 Call for Applications please email: tilth.me@gmail.com
2023/24 Tilth Accelerator Participants
Angelikah Fahray
Independent Performing Artists/ Arts Business Founder
2023 ARTIST IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM
TILTH AIR PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
Tilth’s AIR program supports short term project based collaborations relative to TILTH’s mission. It’s focused on farm immersion and hospitality at TILTH’s Blue Hill headquarters and across our network.
Residents typically work on a career piece, and are supported by a Scope of Work developed with TILTH’s program team that provides up to 3-7 days of room and board and either an input based or output based deliverable. Examples of input might be a strategic plan, a funding strategy or a piece of research and concept development. Examples of output typically are workshops, pop up markets, gallery shows, installations, concerts and cultural events.
FEATURED RESIDENT:
Dan Capaldi is a musician’s musician. A life longer Mainer, he’s a well known and lauded among Maine’s developing arts and music innovators. Capaldi is a full time resident producer at Monaco Studio’s in Falmouth, a published composer and bandleader for his concept art band SeaLevel. His songwriting intersects climate adaptation and courageous social leadership through consistent strokes excellence across his swiss army knife skill set of composition, studio production, performance and engineering excellence.
He’s also knoiw well through his affiliarions with Will Bradford and as percussionist for Bradford’s acclaimed project SeePeoples.
Capaldi is running a series of musician – focused workshops and performances in Blue HIll in Februrary 2024. Stay tuned for the official flyer and annoncement or pre-register to recieve updates here.
2023/2024 TILTH Artists in Residence
Hallie Lartius
Freelancer/Food Systems Writer and Marketing
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THE FARM
FAIR MOUNT FARM
WHo We Are
Billy Giordano
Acting Director / Farm Manager
Board of Directors
Co-Founding Executive Committee
Robbi Bunten, Blue Hill
Lake Larsson, Brookville
Billy Giordano, Blue Hill