FESTIVALS

Throughout its history, artists have been drawn to the Djerassi Program’s powerful landscape and have created sculptures and other works that respond to the place and are reflective of the artist’s experience living on the ranch. We allow the property to be an extension of the studio and permit the inspired artist to work with and in the environment. In some cases, a piece is conceived and constructed specifically for its place. Most works are temporal; they have an inherent lifespan that depends on their material and method of construction. Over the years many works have been placed on the land and many have come and gone. About fifty pieces are currently on site; all are evolving with time and the elements. Their presence is testament to the artist’s creative process.

Each year, from mid-April to late-October, the Program offers tours of its property and many of the artworks. Reservations are required. Located in the redwood-forested Santa Cruz Mountains, the Program makes the private 580-acre ranch where the Program facility is located available to the public on a very limited basis. Preserved in perpetuity through a conservation easement obtained through the Peninsula Open Space Trust, the pristine beauty of the natural landscape and the panoramic ocean views are truly spectacular. In addition, the tours include a selection of the more than forty site-specific sculptures created by visual artists over the thirty-one years that the Program has been in existence.

EVENT UPDATE (as of 6/29/10): The Djerassi Sculpture Tours are full. Please check back again next year.