Adjacent to Cayuga Lake on 4.2 acres, Art faculty Jen de los Reyes and Oscar Rene Cornejo have established LAND, a “site of research, cultivation, care, and conservation” that is under development to support outdoor art and ecology studios, a local species-resilient, high-growth regenerative forest, and community-driven agriculture. The project’s foundational work has been supported by a 2025 Creative Capital grant and a seed grant from the Cornell Mui Ho Center for Cities in 2024.

In parallel, during the spring 2025 semester and continuing this fall, de los Reyes has led the course LAND: Art, Ecology and Environmental Activism, which encourages students to examine the work of artists who have engaged in land-based practices and to develop their own skills through hands-on projects.

With a full growing season of class experience now complete, de los Reyes reflects on the lessons LAND has taught so far.

Read the interview and see photos and videos of the project on the AAP website.