DJERASSI FLINGS OPEN DOORS FOR ANNUAL ARTFUL HARVEST FUNDRAISER

To Support Continuation of World- Renowned Resident Artists Program with Performances and Live Auction over Dinner

WOODSIDE, CA, UNITED STATES, July 30, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Djerassi Resident Artists Program announces Artful Harvest: Art Will Save Us! on Sunday, September 28, 2025 from 3pm-7pm. Movers and shakers in the art world across the country will convene to honor the program that gives artists the chance to express their talents at a time when support for the arts is being challenged in this nation. This annual celebration also serves as a way to announce the wide opening of Djerassi’s doors so that others in its surrounding communities can enjoy its art-filled landscape, seek solace and find inspiration with a view of the Santa Cruz mountains and the shimmering Pacific Ocean ever present. Tax-deductible tickets are $750 per person, or $7,500 for a table of ten. The event will take place at the Djerassi Resident Artist Program, located at 2325 Bear Gulch Road in Woodside, California.

“For the past 42 years, the creative process of more than 2,500 residents has been nurtured during their month-long, no-strings residency at Djerassi. Artful Harvest, our biggest fundraising effort of the year, serves as the perfect way to invite art lovers into what we call a ‘laboratory of creativity’ which also inspires science, technology, philosophy and environmental works,” said Martin Rauchbauer, Executive Director, Djerassi. “So close to Silicon Valley but located on 583 acres of redwood forests, rolling grasslands and big Pacific Ocean views, this event is designed to present a magical evening of performances, while encouraging support of the arts at a time when it is most needed.”

As part of the event, a Group Show will be open for viewing and purchasing starting at 2:00 pm, pre-event. Artworks and offerings will be arranged atmospherically throughout the Artist Barn, an impressively large, round, peaked building encased in glass offering panoramic views. When you purchase a piece of art from one of the residents who have come through the program, you support both Djerassi and the artist equally.


Some of the artists and their works for the Group Show include:

Tiffany Shlain (Sculpture)
An Emmy-nominated filmmaker, artist, and founder of the Webby Awards, Tiffany Shlain explores the intersection of technology, humanity, and culture. Her sculptures and conceptual works blend science, philosophy, and storytelling to spark conversation.

Nathan Oliveira (Etching)
A founding figure in Bay Area Figurative art, Nathan Oliveira was known for his haunting, expressive portraits and solitary figures that bridge abstraction and representation. His legacy continues to influence generations of artists through both his work and his decades of teaching at Stanford.

Amber Jean Young (Painting)
Inspired by the natural beauty of Northern California, Amber Jean Young combines textile techniques with drawing and sculpture to explore memory, landscape, and family legacy. Her work reflects a meditative connection to land and craft.


The evening will also feature live performances from three accomplished alumni:

Sigrid Nunez, an American writer, will read excerpts from her novel What Are You Going Through, which originated during her Djerassi residency in 2017. The novel was adapted by Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar into his first English-language film, The Room Next Door, starring Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore. This film was awarded the Golden Lion at the 81st Venice International Film Festival. Another of her novels, The Friend, was adapted in 2023 by Scott McGehee and David Siegel into a film starring Naomi Watts. Nunez is a New York Times bestselling author and winner of the 2018 National Book Award, finalist for the 2019 Simpson/Joyce Carol Oates Prize, and recipient of a Windham-Campbell Literature Prize in 2025.

Also expect a first-of-its-kind Djerassi-specific collaboration between two more acclaimed alumni: Sidra Bell and Yosvany Terry. Bell will choreograph an original dance work, set to an original score composed and performed live by Terry.

Sidra Bell, artist-in-residence at Djerassi in 2022, is the first Black female choreographer commissioned by New York City Ballet. She is a two-time Bessie Award nominee, recipient of the Creative Capital Award, and founder of Sidra Bell Dance New York. Her boundary-pushing choreography has been commissioned by ODC Theater and performed internationally, earning acclaim from The New York Times, Essence, and The TODAY Show.

Yosvany Terry, a Cuban-born composer and saxophonist, held his residency at Djerassi in 2022. He is internationally celebrated for fusing his Afro-Cuban roots with contemporary jazz, earning a Grammy nomination for his album New Throned King and the prestigious Doris Duke Artist Award. Terry has collaborated with luminaries such as Roy Hargrove, Steve Coleman, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and is currently Senior Lecturer and Director of Jazz Ensembles at Harvard University.


Your ticket, available for purchase here, includes carefully curated experiences for this special evening, including the opportunity to:

DINE on an exquisite, multi-course meal created by Chef Mark Sullivan of The Village Pub of Woodside, a local Michelin Star restaurant.

BID in the live auction for one-of-a-kind experiences, sponsored by Christie’s with auctioneer Andrew Lueck. Including a whole weekend getaway experience for 8 people at Djerassi Ranch, including an onsite gourmet chef, accommodations in the award-winning Diane Middlebrook Studios, and a curated art hike of site-specific installations.

BUY works of art in the Artful Harvest Group Show by Djerassi Alumni visual artists. Fifty percent of the proceeds go to the artist and fifty percent to the Program.

GIVE the gift of time and space to amazing artists by supporting the Djerassi Resident Artists Program.


This internationally recognized artist residency program believes that art has the ability to shape perspectives as well as the world, and it is through supporting artists that society can, in turn, usher in change.

Find out more about the event and tickets visit artfulharvest.org.

Natasha Noel
Communications Lead | Djerassi Resident Artists Program
nnoel@djerassi.org
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