Jack's Solar Garden seeks artist to shine a light on the farm

Boulder County's first solar garden is an inherent composite of nature, community, and pure inspiration. Jack's Solar Garden, a 1.2 megawatt solar array on north 95th Street, switched on operations officially the first week of November 2020. The project's power is now flowing both literally and creatively.

Called agrivoltaics because of the combination of agriculture and solar power, Jack's is the largest operation of its kind in the U.S. and from the start, founder Byron Kominek envisioned artwork also being integral to the project.

The search has begun for Jack's 2021 Artist on the Farm, who will shine a light on the business's connection to the community through the use of visual art. Only Boulder County creatives will be considered. Kominek said there are no parameters around what is expected - the imaginative results may be in any format from digital to physical - and the artwork need not be limited to weatherproof media.

Artist Rachael Scala was Jack's Solar Garden's first artist in residence. Scala's finished pieces were a compilation of ladders, doors, wires, and relics she foraged from the 24-acre property which has been family-owned for three generations. Scala integrated photography, painting, and drawing into her sculptures.

The pairing of Scala's artwork with Jack's resulted in the solar garden winning a 2021 Business for the Arts Awards Honoree award presented by the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts which highlights how important art is as an element of community and businesses.

Artists applying for the opportunity have until March 3 to submit one of the following formats: a two-page document, a five-minute video or two collages consisting of photographs or other artwork. Each applicant's artistic experience and style, and the ways in which the artist would involve the community in learning about Jack's should be presented.

Kominek said, "We're looking at people who are interested in helping to share our story, be active with the community, and we're putting in some extra credit if somebody had an idea for how the artwork can be replicated to send home with tourists."

The 2021 winner will be announced by the end of March. Spending time on the land over the growing season, the artist will draw on their direct experiences to complete their art pieces by September.

The chosen Artist on the Farm will receive an initial $500 stipend for supplies and transportation followed by another $500 stipend at the end of season gala event when the completed work will be on display. One piece will become the property of the solar garden and Jack's will promote the sale of the other pieces through social media, letters, and on-site events.

A field of 3200 solar panels, the majority of which are spoken for by subscribers such as In the Flow Boutique Cannabis, Premier Members Credit Union, Boulder County and the City of Boulder, in addition to individual homeowners, sits on six acres of the farmstead. A small number of solar panels are still available to either commercial or residential subscribers.

Jack's partners with Sprout City Farms, Audubon Rockies, the University of Arizona, National Renewable Energy Lab, and Colorado State University. While the solar garden powers more than 300 homes with renewable energy, scientists will monitor the effect of growing crops and perennials in this unique setting.

Last year, the University of Arizona received a grant from the National Science Foundation which allowed for the purchase of monitoring equipment measuring data such as soil moisture, humidity, light intensity, and soil heat flux. The equipment is staged in several locations throughout the solar garden assessing how vegetation does within the microclimates that panels of different heights provide.

Jack's teamed up with non-profit Sprout City Farms, which is in the process of recruiting a manager for the farming aspect of Jack's, in addition to hiring two apprentices to work the land. "They will be some of the first agrivoltaic farmers in Colorado," Kominek said. Plans call for more than 30 varieties of plants to be planted.

Last year, Audubon Rockies planted a perennial habitat along the perimeter of the solar array, and eventually beehives will be incorporated into the project.

A new arm of the solar garden is the Colorado Agrivoltaic Learning Center, a not-for-profit educational organization connecting students from kindergarten through high school, as well as the community, with local food production, sustainable land management practices, and clean energy resources.

To apply for Jack's Solar Garden's Artist on the Farm, write to Byron@jackssolargarden.com. To learn more about Jack's Solar Garden, visit, http://www.jackssolargarden.com. For more information on the Colorado Agrivoltaic Learning Center and how to support their educational efforts, visit http://www.coloradogives.org/coagrivoltaic.