Art and Agriculture: Coops and Commons (Spring 2026)

Instructor

Nida Sinnokrot

TA

Imani Bailey

Lab Fee

Per-term $75 fee after Add Date; SMACT students are exempt

Credit

3-3-6 G

Schedule

W 2-5

Location

E14-151 (Mars Lab)

This hands-on studio explores the intersections of art, design, governance, and urban agriculture through the collaborative construction of two site-specific chicken coops—one for Common Good Farm and one for Eastie Farms—based on an open-source artist-designed framework. Cross listed and co-taught with Justin Blazier (Architecture) and Kate Brown (STS), the course connects critical histories of urban farming in Boston and Cambridge with practical skills in community-responsive design and fabrication.

Students work directly with local farms and gardens to understand ecological, social, and political contexts, develop artistic, adaptive design proposals, and collectively build functional structures that examine how food systems, civic infrastructures, and public space shape one another.

Open to Graduate and Undergraduate students

No prerequisite