PLAND
PLAND, Practice Liberating Art through Necessary Dislocation, is a multi-disciplinary organization that supports the development of experimental and research-based projects through a variety of on and off-site programs. Headquartered off-the-grid near Tres Piedras, New Mexico, PLAND is a hands-on, exploratory approach to Do-It-Yourself, alternative living.
Founded in 2009 by Erin Elder, Nina Elder, and Nancy Zastudil, PLAND finds its inspiration in a legacy of pioneers, entrepreneurs, homesteaders, artists, and other counterculturalists who — through both radical and mundane activities — reclaim and re-frame a land-based notion of the American Dream. PLAND brings artists, students, innovators, and others into a direct experience of limited natural resources via its rural, off-grid locale and minimal amenities.
While producing open-ended experimental projects that facilitate sustainability, collaboration, and hyper-local engagement, PLAND is a constantly evolving outpost in the New Mexican high desert. Participants are encouraged to marry survival-based goals with big ideas and experimental methods through project-based residencies and work parties. Each of PLAND’s programs prioritizes direct experience of the grid or lack thereof, with all the challenges and surprises that might entail.
While the stars may beckon you to sleep outside, PLANDS provides a very simple camper trailer on the land. It sleeps four, has a propane stove, storage, and a sitting area.
PLAND has just begun in 2009, when 1.25 acres of high desert were purchased at a land auction. The land is raw – no electricity or running water and the road is rough but short. Situated approximately 30 miles northwest of Taos, PLAND is a rural outpost on the edge of the ever- nearing grid. The post-and-beam structure we call the Main House is in an unfinished state – it has a sturdy roof, a half-loft and a few partial walls but no flooring, insulation, utilities or amenities; the garden is undergoing a slow process of soil reclamation; and a bathing facility needs to be created.
Located near Tres Piedras, New Mexico.