Jupiter Performance Studio (JPS), created by Ebony Noelle Golden, conjures theatrical ceremonies rooted in diasporic Black cultural, spiritual and performance traditions.

Partnership activities include:

  • The 2023 Art and Survival Festival, co-curated by Ebony Noelle Golden and Stacy Klein, which gathered over 80 artists, organizers, land stewards, water workers, and educators in Ashfield for three days of performances, workshops, conversations, and meals exploring creativity, climate reparations, and community-building. The Festival culminated the 3-year Art and Survival Fellowship for performing artists produced by DE and JPS.
  • The Eco-Womanist Institute, with JPS Artistic Director Ebony Noelle Golden, will commence in 2025, with a gathering at the Farm Center in 2027.
  • Production premiere of Ebony Noelle Golden’s original performance ceremony In The Name Of The Mother Tree as part of DE’s Constellations Outdoor Festival. The performance will have its full premiere at DE in Fall 2025.
  • Ongoing artist residency.
  • Fiscal sponsorship.

Ohketeau Cultural Center is the only Native founded and run cultural center in all of Central and Western Massachusetts whose work focuses on uplifting the voices of Native peoples and dismantling unjust frameworks, replacing them with accessibility, equity, dignity, and wellness for Native communities. Collaborations include:

  • Indigenous Artist Residency and Youth Visiting Artists: combined support of artists selected annually.
  • Commissioning of Ohketeau Director Larry Spotted Crow Mann’s original performance Freedom in Season as part of DE’s Constellations Outdoor Festival.
  • A land-share agreement for the 100 acres surrounding the DE Farm.
  • Fiscal sponsorship and business assistance.
  • The Ohketeau-DE Indigenous Performance Laboratory, which includes producing original Native performances such as Ishkode
  • Living Presence of Our History, now sunset, co-produced with Ohketeau.

The Theater Offensive (TTO) is a Boston-based cultural organization whose mission is to present liberating art by, for, and about queer and trans people of color that transcends artistic boundaries, celebrates cultural abundance, and dismantles oppression.

TTO partners with DE for:

  • Rural artist residencies
  • Co-hosting programming
  • Retreats
  • Future performance creation and development
  • Programming opportunities for TTO’s youth group True Colors

No Loose Braids (NLB) is a Nipmuc-led organization focused on continuing and reviving Eastern Woodlands traditions and cultural practices. The partnership includes:

  • NLB’s use of the current workshop section of DE’s Design House, including the design and construction of Wampum, Paddles, Water Drums, Brain Tanning, Mishoons.
  • NLB’s use of a residential space at DE.

Rural Exchanges & Youth Programming: DE is partnering with the Town of Ashfield, the Ohketeau Cultural Center, and the Arts Extension Service at UMass Amherst on the Ashfield Rural Climate Resilience and Living Culture Project, supported by the Municipality Vulnerability Preparedness Program. This includes community dinners and site tours, with the goal to grow Ashfield’s potential for creative collaboration and leadership on rural climate and community resilience in the region, as well as to discuss clean energy, nature-based resilience solutions, and affordable housing. DE’s exchange with our local community also includes Community days, barter and trade, jobs and business associations, artist space and programming, discounts and scholarships. We also have long-term partnerships with our local schools in Franklin County, MA and in Springfield, MA that provide different art opportunities for young folks at our Farm Center and where they live / work / play.