Travel to Art Miami: Vermont Female Farmers: The Exhibition
In the comfort of the post-industrial world, especially living in urban environment, it is understandably easy to forget what an important role agriculture plays in our lives. The people whom we owe the food on our table to, live in the countryside and seldom, if ever, make the front page, so, naturally, they are rarely on our mind, yet, nevertheless, the very existence of civilization depends on their labor.
Honoring the contribution of women to the agricultural sector, Billings Farm & Museum proudly presents Vermont Female Farmers, a captivating exhibition of 45 photographs, both color and black-in-white, by the renowned photographer JuanCarlos González, featuring specifically female farmers from across the state.
From 2020 to 2022, right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, the photographer traveled across Vermont, visiting and documenting 38 female farmers, shooting their livelihood and the moments of their daily routine. Inspired by the steadfastness and strong character of women in his own family, González, while working on this project, sought to highlight the often-underrepresented voices of women in agriculture, as well as convey a unique story behind each farm, immortalize the farmers’ passion, toils and triumphs.
True to the promise of the exhibition’s name, “Vermont Female Farmers,” the images capture various aspects of farming done by strong, laborious women, all on the background of diverse wild beauty of Vermont’s hills and plains. Specially for the exhibition, González has brought together the photographs and stories of individual farms in a lovely coffee-table book. The book, as well as specialty items from some of the farms featured in the project, will be featured for sale in the Billings Farm Gift Shop.
The idea of the project, focused specifically on women in agriculture, resonates deeply with the own story of the Billings Farm. All three of Frederick Billings’s daughters–Laura, Mary, and Elizabeth–made significant contributions to the legacy of the family. Ultimately, it is due to their efforts that the operation has succeeded and still carries on, and it is only fitting that these powerful portraits will reside in the Billings historic barn, adjacent to the Farm Life Exhibits, the place that used to house the herd of Billings Farm’s Jersey cows.
With the mission to inspire the future generations of farmers through sharing engaging stories of Vermont’s rural culture, Billings Farm & Museum gladly showcases farm life, both modern and that of the old times. The site’s guests are welcome to make connections to farming, as well as dive into the region’s agricultural history through various seasonal and farm events.
A list of farms and farmers featured in the Vermont Female Farmers project can be found here: www.vermontfemalefarmers.com
EL Nuevo Dia de Puerto Rico: Abre exhibición de fotógrafo boricua sobre mujeres agricultoras en Vermont
Juan Carlos González documentó, entre 2020 y 2022, la historia única detrás de cada granja y destaca las voces subrepresentadas de las féminas en la agricultura del reconocido fotógrafo Juan Carlos González, en el histórico granero de Billings Farm del 19 de agosto al 31 de octubre. Este proyecto documental se centra en las contribuciones significativas e impactantes que las agricultoras están haciendo a la cultura, la identidad y la economía del estado. Esta cautivadora colección de fotografías en blanco y negro y en color brinda información sobre la historia única detrás de cada granja y destaca las voces subrepresentadas de las mujeres en la agricultura.
Originario de Maunabo, Puerto Rico, Juan Carlos González es fotoperiodista y narrador de historias, además de fotógrafo de eventos y paisajes, y actualmente vive en Plymouth, Vermont. Su trabajo ha aparecido en National Geographic, Vogue Italia, Boston Globe y Leica Fotografie International.
Inspirado por la fuerza y tenacidad de las mujeres de su propia familia, de 2020 a 2022, González visitó y documentó a 38 agricultoras, fotografiándolas en el trabajo durante su vida diaria en la granja, capturando su sustento, trabajo y pasión. Con cada encuentro, González aportó su
contagioso carisma y calidez y se sumergió en la historia de cada granja. Granjera tras granjera le dieron la bienvenida a sus vidas, compartieron sus esfuerzos y triunfos, le permitieron capturar momentos honestos de su sustento y casi siempre lo enviaron a casa con los brazos rebosantes de comida fresca y regalos hechos en la granja.
El título de la exposición, “Vermont Female Farmers”, evoca cada uno de los tres elementos retratados en cada fotografía. González creó impresionantes retratos de mujeres que trabajan en la industria agrícola. Cada imagen captura el acto de cultivar, incluidos los productos o animales que se producen en cada granja. Todos tienen como telón de fondo la belleza salvaje y variada de la
tierra y las colinas de Vermont. Junto con la exposición, González reúne fotografías, relatos, historias y conocimientos de cada granja en un hermoso libro de mesa.
Con la misión de inspirar e involucrar a generaciones a través de historias compartidas de la cultura rural de Vermont y la práctica continua de la agricultura responsable, Billings Farm & Museum muestra la vida agrícola, pasada y presente. En todo el sitio, los visitantes hoy establecen conexiones con la agricultura, los sistemas alimentarios y la historia agrícola de la región a través de eventos agrícolas y de temporada, programas diarios dinámicos, campamentos, talleres y experiencias únicas fuera del horario laboral.
Esta exhibición llega en un momento conmovedor en la historia de Vermont después del daño devastador causado por el reciente diluvio en el estado. Muchas granjas que aparecen en esta
exhibición y en todo el estado perdieron cultivos, campos y animales.
Billings Farm & Museum to Present: Vermont Female Farmers
WOODSTOCK, VERMONT... Female farmers from across the state will be featured in a new photography exhibition presented by Billings Farm & Museum. Vermont Female Farmers showcases 45 photographs by renowned photographer, JuanCarlos González, in Billings Farm’s Historic Barn from August 19 – October 31. This documentary project focuses on the meaningful and impactful contributions that female farmers are making to the State’s culture, identity, and economy. This captivating collection of black and white and color photographs provides insight into the unique story behind each farm and spotlights the underrepresented voices of women in agriculture.
Inspired by the strength and tenacity of the women in his own family, from 2020-2022, González visited and documented 38 female farmers, photographing them at work during their daily life on the farm, capturing their livelihood, labor, and passion. With each encounter, González brought his infectious charisma and warmth and immersed himself in the story of each farm. Farmer after farmer welcomed him into their lives, shared their toils and triumphs, allowed him to capture honest moments of their livelihood, and nearly always sent him home with arms overflowing with fresh food and gifts made on the farm.
The exhibition title, Vermont Female Farmers, evokes each of the three elements portrayed in each photograph. González created stunning portraits of women who work in the farm industry. Each image captures the act of farming, including the products or animals that are produced on each farm. All are set against a backdrop of the wild and varied beauty of Vermont’s land and rolling hills. In conjunction with the exhibition, González brings together the photographs, stories, histories, and insights into each farm in a beautiful coffee-table book. The book will be featured for sale in the Billings Farm Gift Shop along with specialty items from many of the farms.
As a contemporary working dairy farm, this project resonates deeply with the Billings Farm story and the significant contributions that the woman of Billings made to the farm. Each of Frederick Billings’ daughters – Laura, Mary, and Elizabeth – made unique contributions to the family legacy and were a driving force behind the success and continuity of the operation. It is fitting that these powerful portraits will reside in the Billings historic barn, adjacent to the Farm Life Exhibits, a place that in the past housed the herd of Billings Jersey cows.
With the mission to inspire and engage generations through shared stories of Vermont’s rural culture and the continued practice of responsible agriculture, Billings Farm & Museum showcases farm life, past and present. Across the site, guests today make connections to farming, food systems, and the region’s agricultural history through seasonal and farm events, dynamic daily programs, camps, workshops, and unique after-hours experiences. This exhibit comes at a poignant time in Vermont’s history after the devastating damage from the recent deluge flooding. Many farms featured in this exhibit and across the state lost crops, fields, and animals. Our hearts go out to those in our community who have experienced flood damage and setbacks.
About the Artist
Originally from Maunabo, Puerto Rico, JuanCarlos González is a photojournalist and storyteller, as well as an event and landscape photographer who currently lives in Plymouth, Vermont. His work has been featured in National Geographic, Vogue Italia, the Boston Globe, and Leica Fotografie International. VermontFemaleFarmers.com.
Valley News: Vermont’s female farmers featured in new photo collection
WOODSTOCK — Itinerant slaughterer and sheep-shearer Mary Lake came of age among images of Vermont agrarian life.
Lake, who now lives in Tunbridge, grew up in South Hero, Vt., flipping through photo books like Peter Miller’s iconic 1990 “Vermont People” and his 2002 follow-up, “Vermont Farm Women.”
“I would look at the books and think ‘Do I want to take pictures like these, or do I want to be the people in the pictures?’ ” Lake, 39, said.
She ultimately answered her own question. In July, Plymouth, Vt.-based photographer JuanCarlos González released “Vermont Female Farmers,” a collection of portraits of nearly 40 women working in agriculture across the state. Lake is there among its pages, immortalized in black-and-white, shearing a sheep.
With the publication of González’s work, the lineage of storied Vermont photography books — with their renderings of rural, rough farm life — has gained a new member. The work is accompanied by an exhibit at the Billings Farm and Museum in Woodstock, which opened in August.
González, 44, grew up helping his grandmother at her farm stand in his native Puerto Rico. More than once he heard customers approach her, after she had spent all day working on her land, only to ask: “Who’s the guy who owns the farm?”
In 2019, just after González and his husband moved to Vermont, he overheard a diner from a neighboring table at a restaurant ask a server: “Who’s the guy you get your meat from?”
“That was an immediate flashback,” González said. “I realized we’re still in the same mentality now as we were then. So if I can do something to amplify women in farming, I’m going to do it.”
A New York City transplant to Vermont, González — originally from Maunabo, Puerto Rico — worked in the pharmaceutical industry for over a decade. He cuts a different picture from Miller, who died at 89 in April, and in 2017 had to crowd-source donations to bankroll his final project “Vanishing Vermonters: Loss of a Rural Culture.”
González’s self-published book received a $2,000 grant from the Vermont Arts Council, but he put up the rest — around $52,000 — himself.
“The biggest thing for me was for people to learn the importance of supporting local farmers,” he said. Looking at the photos should inspire a mission, González added: “Buy local products from female farmers.”
All of the women González approached for the project wanted to participate, he said. The portraits, taken on the land they farm, often became a moment of reflection. “Some of these farmers, because there’s so much history, really opened up,” he said.
The forces behind Vermont’s farm economy have changed, and the photographic record of farm life in the Green Mountain State was due for an update, Lake said.
Women are the main producers on a third of Vermont farms, and nearly 70% of farms have at least one female operator, according to the University of Vermont Cooperative Extension program.
“When JuanCarlos called me, I was like, ‘This is exactly what should be happening,’ ” Lake said. Vermont farm women, especially now, aren’t just the wives of farmers, she said. “The farmers are two wives, or a group of friends, or the husband helps out at the farm.”
Becca Balint, the first woman and LGBT person to represent Vermont in Congress, penned the book’s forward. On the cover, small-scale dairy farmer Liz Guenther, of Three Cow Creamery in Corinth, poses with her cow, Blossom.
“This was a life goal, and a huge, honor,” Lake said of being included among González’s portraits. “This is now a part of Vermont farming history.”
“Vermont Female Farmers” is on display at the Billings Museum and Farm until Oct. 31. The museum, at 69 Old River Rd. in Woodstock, is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $17 for ages 16 to 61, with discounts for seniors, students and children ages four to 15. Admission is free for children under three.
VT Digger: Vermont’s female farmers featured in new photo collection
In July, Plymouth, Vermont-based photographer JuanCarlos González released “Vermont Female Farmers,” a collection of portraits of nearly 40 women working in agriculture across the state.
JuanCarlos González, of Plymouth, photographed 45 female farmers throughout Vermont for a book and exhibition that opened in August and runs through October at Billings Farm in Woodstock. Photo by James M. Patterson/Valley News
WOODSTOCK — Itinerant slaughterer and sheep-shearer Mary Lake came of age among images of Vermont agrarian life.
Lake, who now lives in Tunbridge, grew up in South Hero, flipping through photo books like Peter Miller’s iconic 1990 “Vermont People” and his 2002 follow-up, “Vermont Farm Women.”
“I would look at the books and think ‘Do I want to take pictures like these, or do I want to be the people in the pictures?’ ” Lake, 39, said.
She ultimately answered her own question. In July, Plymouth, Vermont-based photographer JuanCarlos González released “Vermont Female Farmers,” a collection of portraits of nearly 40 women working in agriculture across the state. Lake is there among its pages, immortalized in black-and-white, shearing a sheep.
With the publication of González’s work, the lineage of storied Vermont photography books — with their renderings of rural, rough farm life — has gained a new member. The work is accompanied by an exhibit at the Billings Farm and Museum in Woodstock, which opened in August.
González, 44, grew up helping his grandmother at her farm stand in his native Puerto Rico. More than once he heard customers approach her, after she had spent all day working on her land, only to ask: “Who’s the guy who owns the farm?”
In 2019, just after González and his husband moved to Vermont, he overheard a diner from a neighboring table at a restaurant ask a server: “Who’s the guy you get your meat from?”
“That was an immediate flashback,” González said. “I realized we’re still in the same mentality now as we were then. So if I can do something to amplify women in farming, I’m going to do it.”
A New York City transplant to Vermont, González — originally from Maunabo, Puerto Rico — worked in the pharmaceutical industry for over a decade. He cuts a different picture from Miller, who died at 89 in April, and in 2017 had to crowd-source donations to bankroll his final project “Vanishing Vermonters: Loss of a Rural Culture.”
González’s self-published book received a $2,000 grant from the Vermont Arts Council, but he put up the rest — around $52,000 — himself.
Emily Fox tends to her chickens at High Low Farm in Woodstock, Vt. The photograph is part of JuanCarlos Gonzalez’s book “Vermont Female Farmers,” which is also on display at the Billings Farm & Museum until October 31, 2023. Courtesy photo/Valley News
“The biggest thing for me was for people to learn the importance of supporting local farmers,” he said. Looking at the photos should inspire a mission, González added: “Buy local products from female farmers.”
All of the women González approached for the project wanted to participate, he said. The portraits, taken on the land they farm, often became a moment of reflection. “Some of these farmers, because there’s so much history, really opened up,” he said.
The forces behind Vermont’s farm economy have changed, and the photographic record of farm life in the Green Mountain State was due for an update, Lake said.
Women are the main producers on a third of Vermont farms, and nearly 70% of farms have at least one female operator, according to the University of Vermont Cooperative Extension program.
“When JuanCarlos called me, I was like, ‘This is exactly what should be happening,’ ” Lake said. Vermont farm women, especially now, aren’t just the wives of farmers, she said. “The farmers are two wives, or a group of friends, or the husband helps out at the farm.”
Becca Balint, the first woman and LGBT person to represent Vermont in Congress, penned the book’s forward. On the cover, small-scale dairy farmer Liz Guenther, of Three Cow Creamery in Corinth, poses with her cow, Blossom.
“This was a life goal, and a huge, honor,” Lake said of being included among González’s portraits. “This is now a part of Vermont farming history.”
“Vermont Female Farmers” is on display at the Billings Museum and Farm until Oct. 31. The museum, at 69 Old River Rd. in Woodstock, is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $17 for ages 16 to 61, with discounts for seniors, students and children ages four to 15. Admission is free for children under three.
Seven Days VT
Three Questions About the 'Vermont Female Farmers' Exhibit at Billings Farm and Museum in Woodstock
Will SolomonOct 3, 2023 14:10 PM
Vermont Female Farmers book cover featuring Liz Guenther of Three Cow Creamery
Photographer JuanCarlos González had been interested in agriculture since growing up in Maunabo, Puerto Rico, where his grandmother ran a small farmstand. As the grandson of a rural farmer and the son of a woman who was one of 11 children, the majority of whom were women, he said it "was always in my mind that women can do anything."
But he couldn't escape the widespread assumption that farmers must be male — whether from customers in Maunabo or from diners asking where vegetables were sourced at a Vermont restaurant.
In 2020, the Plymouth resident decided to document the role of women in Vermont agriculture. What started as a relatively narrow effort grew. The resulting exhibit, "Vermont Female Farmers," is now on display at the Billings Farm & Museum in Woodstock through October 31. (A printed book of photos can be ordered from the project website.) Featuring more than 40 farmers across the state, González's photographs show them at work in various settings: driving a tractor, working a field, or simply pausing for a moment and leaning on a fence.
Seven Days and González discussed how the project grew organically and his hopes for it. We also spoke with farmer Hannah Blackmer about her reasons for taking part.
How did you find the farmers?
The goal was to start with 10 female farmers. I started with Emily von Trapp. We met, and she's like, "Have you thought of maybe adding Em and Rose [of Union Brook Farm in Northfield]?" It became one of those things. A farmer would say, "Are you including Mary Lake [of Can-Do Shearing in Tunbridge]?" And then I met Mary Lake, and she said, "Oh, my God, you need to meet Jane Pomykala [of Pomykala Farm in Grand Isle]."
It was this progression of different connections. It was just so beautiful, the whole experience, almost two years of it. I wish it never ended.
What do you hope "Vermont Female Farmers" conveys?
Savage Gardens, up in the Champlain Islands, sent me a note saying that it was unbelievable that people went to the exhibit in Woodstock and took a trip up to North Hero to buy some of their flowers and products.
This is exactly what I wanted. People learn about the farmers, how they can support them, how they can continue to amplify the industry. It's been creating waves, people coming from southern New Hampshire, from New York, to see the exhibit. It's a good, good feeling.
This final question was addressed to Hannah Blackmer, co-owner with her mother of Northfield's Field Stone Farm. The small regenerative fruit and vegetable operation is located on the land where Blackmer grew up.
Why'd you participate in this project?
Farming is seen, maybe superficially, as a very wholesome and special way of life. And it is. But it's also gritty. It's difficult. As I was wandering around the exhibit, I saw so many emotions in the photos, from a lot of people that I know. There's tenderness in the images. There's tenacity. There's exhaustion.
It's that kind of grittiness of the hard work and the labor and the love that goes into it that I want people to recognize. We have muscles, and we sweat, and we're exhausted. But we love what we do, and we want to keep doing it, and there are so many of us.
JuanCarlos could do this project another three times over and still have just barely scratched the surface of how many women in agriculture there are across the state.
This interview was edited and condensed for clarity and length.