Poor Farm

What Poor Farm does

Poor Farm is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit art organization founded in 2008 and based in Little Wolf, Wisconsin, operating out of the historic former Waupaca County Poor Farm built in 1876 at E13909 County Road H, Manawa, WI. The organization functions as an experimental artist-residency and exhibition platform, anchored by 8,000 square feet of physical exhibition space and a 22-person team. Its core offerings include the Living Within the Play residency in Wisconsin and its sister program nido at Monte Castello di Vibio in Italy, the discontinued Summer School (2008–2019), Poor Farm Press (a publishing imprint producing catalogs and artist's books), annual exhibitions under The Great Poor Farm Experiment, The Open Fund (a regranting program co-presented with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Arts and the Ruth Foundation for the Arts that has distributed more than $190,000 in grants), and The David Graeber Institute, a co-located scholarly initiative.

The organization serves practicing artists, curators, scholars, and a broader public audience engaging experimental contemporary art, with select residency participation priced at 3,000 Euros for the Italy-based nido program. Its business model is a hybrid nonprofit structure: philanthropic grants and foundation support are the primary funding mechanism, supplemented by earned revenue from residency fees, Poor Farm Press publication sales, and exhibition-related activity. Strategic visibility has been elevated through participation in the 2025 La Biennale di Venezia (American Pavilion) and the launch of an inaugural Poor Farm Biennale in Umbria in 2026.

Operationally, the Poor Farm is part of a network of legacy Midwestern experimental residencies, with formal and informal ties to The Suburban (Oak Park, IL), Ox-Bow (Wisconsin), and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), from which several residency co-directors and coordinators are drawn. The combination of a historic physical site, an academic talent pipeline, an expanding international exhibition footprint, and foundation-backed regranting positions the organization as a small but influential node within the U.S. experimental-art ecosystem.

Name

Poor Farm

Legal name

The Poor Farm

Website

https://poorfarmexperiment.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Poor Farm is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit art experiment founded in 2008 in Little Wolf, Wisconsin, operating artist residencies in the U.S. and Italy, exhibitions, publishing, and a regranting program for visual artists and scholars.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Little Wolf

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: The Poor Farm is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that accepts donations and operates grant programs like The Open Fund in collaboration with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Arts and Ruth Foundation for the Arts.
2. Publication Sales: Poor Farm Press publishes artist books and catalogs available for purchase by contacting the organization or through retailers like Woodland Pattern Book Center and Green Gallery in Milwaukee.
3. Residency Fees: The Living Within the Play: nido residency in Italy charges 3000.00 Euros for participation, which includes accommodations, meals, studio space, airport transfers, and excursions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Poor Farm is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit art experiment and residency founded in 2008 at the former Waupaca County Poor Farm in Little Wolf, Wisconsin. It runs year-long contemporary art exhibitions (The Great Poor Farm Experiment), artist residencies (Living Within the Play in Wisconsin and nido in Italy), the Poor Farm Press publishing imprint, the Open Fund regranting initiative, the Summer School educational program, and the David Graeber Institute. It also participates in international exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale and La Biennale in Umbria.

Product overview

The Poor Farm is a not-for-profit art experiment and residency founded in 2008 at the former Waupaca County Poor Farm (built 1876) in Little Wolf, Wisconsin. It offers a unified portfolio of interconnected programs centered on artist residencies, year-long exhibitions, and publishing. Core offerings include the Living Within the Play residency (and its Italian sister program nido), Summer School educational programming (2008-2019), Poor Farm Press publishing, The Open Fund grant program, The David Graeber Institute research space, and The Great Poor Farm Experiment annual exhibitions series. In 2015, The Poor Farm participated in the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. The organization is supported by The Suburban (EST 1999) and maintains affiliations with the Green Gallery. It is affiliated with Sky Hopinka's publication and maintains partnerships with institutions including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Poor Farm Press: The publishing imprint for the Poor Farm that produces exhibition catalogs, artist books, and publications.
• The David Graeber Institute
• Living Within the Play
• Living Within the Play: nido
• The Open Fund

Products and services

• Living Within the Play (Wisconsin Residency)
• Living Within the Play: nido (Italy Residency)

Quantifiable outcome

• 22 collaborative artist projects awarded Open Fund grants totaling over $190,000 in Wisconsin
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Ox-Bow in WisconsinminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Partnership for exhibitions and residency programming at The Poor Farm in 2026.
• NIDO / Monte Castello di VibiocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022The Poor Farm launched a summer 'sister' residency known as nido (Italian for 'nest') in the Umbrian hill town of Monte Castello di Vibio, Italy. The annual residency program brings together an international consortium of artists for a two-week program culminating in exhibitions and performances. The 2026 program coincides with the inaugural Poor Farm Biennale.
• The SuburbancoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008The Poor Farm (EST 2008) and The Suburban (EST 1999) together support artists and their ideas. The Suburban, another artist-run exhibition space in Oak Park, Illinois founded by Michelle Grabner, is a sister organization that has collaborated on exhibitions and programming over the years.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts: Omaha-based nonprofit offering artist residencies, exhibitions, and public programs with an artist-centered curatorial approach similar to Poor Farm's mission and operating model.
• MacDowell: Artist residency in Peterborough, NH providing dedicated time and studio space for creative work; comparable in mission, scale, and nonprofit residency infrastructure.
• Elsewhere: Artist residency in Greensboro, NC operating in a former downtown building; comparable nonprofit residency model with site-specific programming and artistic experimentation ethos.
• Ucross Foundation: Artist residency program in rural Wyoming serving visual artists and other disciplines; comparable rural residency model, nonprofit funding mix, and capacity range to Poor Farm.
• Yaddo: Historic artist retreat in Saratoga Springs, NY offering residencies across disciplines with a nonprofit structure and curated application process similar to Poor Farm's residency model.
• Anderson Center: Minnesota-based artist residency and retreat offering residencies and public programs; structurally similar to Poor Farm with rural Midwestern location and nonprofit governance.
• Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture: Prestigious summer residency program in Maine focused on contemporary visual artists, comparable in scale, mission, and artist-residency model to Poor Farm's Living Within the Play program.
• Ox-Bow: Saugatuck, MI-based artist residency and school; already a documented Poor Farm partner, with overlapping residency programming and nonprofit arts mission.
• The Suburban: Oak Park, IL artist-run exhibition space founded in 1999 by Michelle Grabner; sister organization to Poor Farm with shared mission of supporting artists and ideas through unconventional programming.

Emerging players

• Haystack Mountain School of Crafts: Deer Isle, ME craft school and residency program; offers workshops and residencies in a rural coastal setting, overlapping with Poor Farm's rural-residency format and publication/exhibition programming.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/poorfarm_livingintheplay
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/poor-farm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Poor Farm