Who

• Fernland: symbolizes growth, resilience, and protection. Ferns are some of the oldest plants on Earth and are recognized across cultures.

• Studio: A sacred place where one can strive toward, and devote oneself to, cultivating virtue, wisdom, and art in community.

Fernland Studios is an experimental ecology art studio prioritizing rest, rejuvenation, and reciprocity. Our mission is to offer Black, Indigenous, and all people of color opportunities to sustain their relationship with the land through art, education, and spiritual wellness.

Our vision is to help people process environmental-related trauma, provide a healing space for creative expression, support non-hierarchical mentorship, and foster collective liberation in the Pacific Northwest. We value caring for ourselves, communities, more than humans, and the land; forming a collective centered on uplifting each other; and sustaining pathways for people to explore ideas.

What

Fernland Studios provides hybrid programming—artist residencies, ecological fellowships, educational retreats, and writing workshops—prioritizing storytelling and ecological stewardship. Our programs nurture rest, rejuvenation, and reciprocity for participants to explore environmental and cultural storytelling. We provide financial support and resources to encourage the creative process, ensuring communities of color can sustain their practices, care for their knowledge, and build cross-cultural, intergenerational connections.

Our work is rooted in:

• Anti-racist, decolonial, and queer programs centering on those most impacted by colonialism, racial capitalism, and climate change.

• Access for Black, Indigenous, and all people of color to sustain ancestral practices through creative, ecological, and spiritual care.

• Opportunities for communities of color to engage in interdependent and intergenerational healing.

• Engagements with regenerative art or using art to heal our spirits, communities, and ecologies.

When

Now. Fernland Studios began as an idea on June 2, 2020, and continues to grow.

The first phase (2020-21) focused on virtual opportunities, community organizing, and awareness about the organization. The second phase (2022-23) incorporated a mix of virtual and in-person opportunities as we assessed a physical center for Fernland’s future.

We’re moving into the third phase (2024-26) with virtual and in-person programming, increasing staff capacity, and creating a physical center for Fernland programming. We look forward to sharing a snapshot of our experiences through our upcoming anthology published with Loam.

Where

Fernland Studios was founded on Kalapuya Ilihi, the homeland of the Kalapuya people, who today are represented by the Confederated Tribes of the Grande Ronde and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians. Fernland is based on Wapato Island, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, and we provide online opportunities.

We respect the stewards of this land — past, present, and future — and the knowledge of those who came before us. We honor the Black and Brown labor on which this country is built and sustained. We offer gratitude for the land and the opportunity to learn, love and be in relationship with our ancestors, spirits, and mentors guiding us.