Author: The Auction Collective
Published: 17 May 2024
Agri_Culture_1 Auction: Interview with Harlem Grown and Tall Poppy Studio
The Auction Collective is excited to be hosting a unique collaborative fundraising auction between Harlem Grown and Tall Poppy Studio. Bidding for the auction featuring five custom-painted Nike Air Force 1 sneakers is open until 22nd May. All proceeds will go to Harlem Grown, based in Harlem, New York. Bid here.
We sat down with Harlem Grown, Tall Poppy Studio, and some of the artists in the auction to discuss the unique collaboration Agri_Culture_1.
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Image courtesy of Tall Poppy Studio.
Harlem Grown transforms abandoned lots into thriving urban farms across Harlem. Every single day, they inspire local children to lead healthy and ambitious lives through hands-on education in urban farming and nutrition. By providing access to free healthy food and educational programming to thousands of people, Harlem Grown gives families more choices and more pathways to success.
Tall Poppy is a non-traditional creative company based in New York that develops breakthrough
creative projects that are embraced by culture and shared widely.
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How did the charity start?
Harlem Grown: Driven by a commitment to address the health and academic challenges faced by public elementary school students in Harlem, Tony Hiller, founded Harlem Grown in 2011 with one farm, one school partnership, and a mission to inspire youth to lead healthy and ambitious lives.
Tony’s journey began through his volunteer work at a local Harlem elementary school, where he witnessed firsthand the lack of resources and nutritional support for students. In one of the richest cities in the world, how could our children not have all the resources they needed to thrive? It became clear that enacting change meant more than just providing access to healthy foods; it meant equipping their community with the tools and opportunities needed to thrive. That’s where Harlem Grown’s programming steps in.
Harlem Grown Founder Tony Hill. Image courtesy of Harlem Grown.
Over the years, Harlem Grown has evolved and expanded its offerings to the community. From Summer Camps to Saturdays on the Farm, the organization has been committed to providing opportunities for access, knowledge, and mentorship. With Nicole Engel joining as Executive Director to lead alongside Tony in 2021, Harlem Grown built the infrastructure to expand their programming and reinforce its belief that food justice goes hand in hand with education.
Today, with 14 urban agricultural sites and 7 school partnerships, Harlem Grown’s impact continues to grow. Last year alone, the organization served nearly 20,000 community members and provided over 74,000 hours of youth engagement. At first glance of their urban farms, it is easy to focus on what they plant, yet the reality is that Harlem Grown does more than grow fruits and vegetables, they grow people.
Image Courtesy of Harlem Grown
How will the funds from this auction support Harlem Grown?
Harlem Grown: We envision a Harlem where all future generations are empowered through our farms and programs to advocate for their health, their community, and their planet. That’s where your support comes in, funds from this auction will be used to support Harlem Grown in providing their life-changing programming. Harlem Grown programming directly addresses the socioeconomic disparities prevalent in Harlem by providing free access to healthy food, offering nutrition education, fostering urban farming skills, promoting environmental justice, and facilitating youth workforce development.
Your contributions are not just financial support for Harlem Grown, they are instrumental in creating transformative opportunities for their children. Time spent with Harlem Grown gives their youth a greater sense of self-efficacy, leadership, appreciation of wellness, and opportunities for growth, while providing their caretakers with the time to engage in educational, employment, and self-care opportunities to best provide for and support their families. Harlem Grown is pioneering farm-to-life success for Harlem youth,and they won’t stop until every child in their community has what they need to be empowered, confident, joyful change makers.
Image courtesy of Harlem Grown.
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Tell us more about Tall Poppy and your origin story.
Alex Little, Co-founder of Tall Poppy: Karsten and I started Tall Poppy with a belief that advertising doesn’t need to act like advertising. A brand’s story can be told in a more authentic way that makes it matter more to people.
The general industry consensus is that more advertising means more sales. We think that’s a dated approach that doesn’t respect the time, or intelligence of anyone.
Tall Poppy embraces what we call Creative Sustainability. It’s about focusing a brand’s marketing energy on innovative ideas that exist on the edges; mixing and mingling with products, services, and experiences to deliver lasting connections between brands and culture. The result is less advertising and more meaningful connections.
That mindset has allowed us to create life-changing devices for football players, films on Amazon Prime and viral films that create national debates on the U.S Senate floor.
Photography Credits: Emily Hlavac Green; Image courtesy of Tall Poppy Studio
Why did you choose an auction for this campaign? How has this helped you promote the charity in new ways?
Alex Little: If you visit any of the Harlem Grown farms you instantly fall in love with their people and their work. The challenge is getting others up there to see it and support it. So we developed an idea to spread their story well beyond the neighborhood.
Harlem is famous for its street culture — from the days of Dapper Dan to ASAP Ferg today. So we used fashion as a vehicle for the Harlem Grown story and merged street culture with agriculture. We carefully searched New York for six brilliant artists with a unique aesthetic and who understood the power of Harlem Grown’s work. The worked over several weeks to re-conceive Harlem’s favorite sneakers — the Nike Air Force 1 — with paint literally extracted from Harlem Grown vegetables.
We launched the art auction with an exhibition in Harlem then opened it up to a global audience on The Auction Collective. From Harlem New York to the world.
Photography Credits: Emily Hlavac Green; Image courtesy of Tall Poppy Studio
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Could you share more about how you transformed the shoe using paint extracted from Harlem Grown produce?
Tall Poppy and Harlem Grown worked with a scientist in Brooklyn, Steven Brower, who is a world expert in creating scenery and props for film and television. He extracted the paint using a traditional technique using heat and pressure.
Statement from featured artist Whitney House:
My piece pays homage to Harlem Grown through its celebration of three integral facets: the lively spirit of Harlem's children, the historical significance of its farms, and the empowering words that resonate throughout the community. Utilizing a palette of various brown tones created with vegetable paints and acrylics, each shoe captures the essence of Harlem's youth, reflecting their diversity and vibrancy. Handwritten messages of encouragement, reminiscent of Harlem's uplifting ethos, are carefully inscribed using fabric paint, adding a personal and meaningful touch to every pair. The laces, fashioned from artificial grass, symbolize the resilience and growth that characterize Harlem's agricultural heritage, completing the narrative of this unique and inspired collection.
Lot 5. Whitney House, Promise Land. Bid here.
Find out more:
Harlem Grown:
@harlemgrown
Tall Poppy Studio
@tallpoppy.studio
Featured artists:
Laolu Senbanjo (@laolunyc)
Lisa Whittington (@theartistlisalove)
Adrian Brandon (@ayy.bee)
Lyne Lucien (@lalucien)
Alex Caidor (@caedorcolours)
Whitney House (@kicksbytce)
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Agri_Culture_1 x Harlem Grown is currently open as a Timed Auction via The Auction Collective.
Bidding ends at 6:00 PM (UK Time) / 1:00 PM (EDT)
Starting Bids: $500
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