Session One Update from Djerassi!
From left to right: Session 1 Artists, David Coll, Preeti Vangani, Heran Abate, Brenna K. Murphy, James Simmons III
Residencies, Renewal, and Reconnection
The first artists of 2022 have come to Djerassi and, like the new grass blanketing the mountain, residencies are back in living color! 
After a nearly two-year disruption of the core on-site residency program, last month we welcomed a group of five artists to our 583-acre ranch in the Santa Cruz Mountains. To prepare, we instituted new COVID safety protocols, including mandated vaccines, regular testing, and smaller artist cohorts; made critical upgrades to our facilities and grounds, including a major fire mitigation and preparedness effort; and launched a long-term process to make our operation more equitable and inclusive. We were thrilled to grow our team with our new Residency Manager, Jewel, Ranch Assistant, Valerie, and Chef Sue.

These past weeks, the artists’ studios have crackled with energy.

Some examples of artist feedback provide a sense of the impact of a Djerassi residency:

"Spending a month at Djerassi was absolutely crucial to reinvigorating my artistic practice… I've gone through periods over the past four years in which I thought I might actually stop making art on the professional level, but my time at Djerassi has me re-engaged in my artistic practice and truly excited for the work I have yet to make.”
Brenna K. Murphy, Visual Artist, Session 1, 2022
"I wrote a third and final draft of my play. After that I went through the script and planned out structural rewrites. In the final days of my time I finished those rewrites. This would usually take me about one year to do."
 James Simmons III, Playwright, Session 1, 2022

"My residency gave me the gift of long, uninterrupted stretches of time so I could dive into creating full drafts, a luxury I often don't get with the pressures of my day job and routine life. The residency gave me the chance to experiment a lot in my practice, to assess which ways of composing and revising feel more fruitful over others. I became more deeply aware of my work, its themes and connections between projects. These threads will go a long way in setting me up for my next few endeavors."
       Preeti Vangani, Writer, Session 1, 2022
We’re thrilled to introduce this first cohort of 2022 residents whose artistic practices span writing, composing, fiber and dramatic arts:


Brooklyn-based theater artist and writer James Simmons’ work has been seen at LaMaMa, Dixon Place and St. Ann’s Warehouse. He is currently working on a play about his great-grandfather, Milledgeville Georgia’s first black physician, and his great-grandmother, the family matriarch.


Indian poet, writer and educator, Preeti Vangani’s work has been published in Threepenny Review and her first book, Mother Tongue Apologize won the RL India Poetry Prize.

Ethiopian writer Heran Abate’s practice is deeply rooted in archives and oral testimonies that reveal stories often at the fringes of history and literature. Her writing appears in Africa Is A Country, New Short Fiction from Africa and Redemption Song & Other Stories.


David Coll is a composer of concert music, installation art, and interdisciplinary projects that engage physical presence with technology to create dramatic and introspective works, often to playful effect. His work has been recognized through commissions, prizes, and awards, and featured at festivals including MATA, Gaudeamus, and MusicAcoustica.

Fiber-based visual artist and lifelong nomad, Brenna K. Murphy explores loss and grief and their relationship to the body, emotional labor, and physical labor using techniques such as weaving, embroidery, and lace-making. Brenna has exhibited throughout the U.S. and internationally in community art centers, commercial galleries, and corporate venues.
For our entire community, reigniting Djerassi’s core mission of providing time, space and resources for artists to create has reaffirmed the critical importance of our work. We are committed to serving every artist whose residency was postponed due to COVID. This year, we are putting new applications on hold while we host artist residents who were originally accepted in 2019 and 2020. 

Stay tuned for updates regarding the next round of applications as well as opportunities for supporters and the general public to visit Djerassi, engage in guided hikes, and experience unique site-specific performances and installations!

As we continue to bring our residency program back to life and welcome our second cohort of 2022 artists this month, we look forward to sharing our experiences with you. 

On behalf of our artists, staff, and board: Thank you! Your past and ongoing support makes these transcendent experiences possible.
(P.S. Please consider making a donation by clicking here. Your support for our mission of supporting artists and preserving the natural beauty of these 583 acres is greatly appreciated!)
Images: Top left - Brenna K. Murphy |Top Right - Session 1 Cohort | Middle left - James Simmons III | Middle right - Preeti Vangani | Middle left - Heran Abate | Bottom right - David Coll | Botton left - Brenna K. Murphy
2325 Bear Gulch Road
Woodside, CA 94062
(650) 747-0691