the only residence in the US designed by ai weiwei becomes the base for the ‘forge project’, an initiative that supports indigenous leaders and communities working in the arts, food sovereignty, language revitalization, and more. originally called ‘tsai residence’, the house in upstate new york was realized by ai weiwei in collaboration with HHF architects in 2008, with a guest house addition in 2011. sold for $4.9 million earlier this year, the 3 bedroom dwelling is now known as ‘forge house’ and it will host a range of programs, serving as a forum for events and exhibitions, and as a workspace and home for four new forge project fellows.
image by alon koppel
forge house is situated in the hudson valley on unceded, traditional, and ancestral lands of an indigenous community called the muh-he-con-ne-ok. forge project encompasses four main elements: the fellowship program; a farming and ecological education program in partnership with sky high farms to combat food insecurity in the region; a lending collection of artworks from indigenous and hudson valley artists, which is on rotating view at forge project by appointment; and an alliance with the gochman family foundation, which provides direct monetary support to community organizations in the region.
image by alon koppel
the ai weiwei-designed house welcomes four inaugural forge project fellows: architect and founder of studio:indigenous chris t cornelius (oneida), artist and filmmaker sky hopinka (ho-chunk nation/pechanga band of luiseño indians), ecologist and researcher jasmine neosh (menominee), and language preservation activist and mohican language teacher brock schreiber (stockbridge-munsee band of…