Introducing New Residency Manager Jeff Edenberg
It’s said we all need two things in life: roots to keep us grounded and wings to propel us into a bigger world. New BHFH Residency Manger, Jeff Edenberg, arrives at BHFH with both. Jeff recently moved to Boston, and though the move signals a new chapter in Jeff’s life, he is surrounded by friends and family. Jeff’s sister is in Cambridge for a post-doctoral program, as is the newest member of Jeff’s family, a baby nephew named Luke. And though Jeff grew up in Indiana and most recently lived in Wisconsin, two of Jeff’s closest childhood friends are now living in the Boston area. Jeff seems to have found the sweet spot between adventure and support.
Jeff is no stranger to communal living. In fact, he describes himself as “an experienced community-dweller” having lived in community all of his adult life. In college Jeff worked as the Residency Manager at two different cooperative houses. Most recently, Jeff lived and worked at the Wormfarm Institute in Wisconsin. Wormfarm is an agrarian arts residency program that hosts programs throughout the year. The Institute is a CSA farm whose mission is to reinvigorate rural communities through art – performance art and installations. At Wormfarm, Jeff was the Education and Perfomance Coordinator where he coordinated an educational program for over 500 attendees. Additionally, he was a point person for Wormfarm’s annual Fermentation Fest, an event that draws 20,000 or so people to the region over a ten-day period. Fermentation Fest sounds like an amazing festival. The institute describes this annual event as
…a live culture convergence, and an annual celebration of food, farming and fermentation. It features “live culture” in all its forms from the practical to the metaphorical – yogurt to dance, poetry to sauerkraut. The main event is the Farm/Art DTour, a 50 mile self- guided drive through scenic working lands punctuated by temporary art installations, pasture performances and more. Through the vision of artists, we explore the timeless connections between land and people.
Jeff describes the Fermentation Festival as the perfect metaphor for Wormfarm’s work – “introduce a little culture, and let it grow.” BHFH is especially lucky that, as we as an organization open up to more public programs, we can draw on Jeff’s significant program and education experience.
Along with Jeff’s commitment to community is his passion for art, especially music. Jeff has a degree in music with a specialization in horn performance. Jeff says Housies have been supportive of his playing his French Horn. He thinks by now he’s played his horn in most every room in the House, and at some point, hopes to find other Boston-area musicians with whom he can play. But music isn’t Jeff’s only artistic pursuit. He has done costume design in the past and soon after his arrival in Boston, Jeff signed up for a felting class at Mass Art. Jeff said he loved the class because he is open to being an amateur in new art forms in addition to his expertise with the French Horn. Jeff describes his connection to art and performance as a tool to explore human experience.
We welcome Jeff with open arms and are most grateful that such a creative and seasoned community leader has joined our community.
– by Ali White (Resident 2014-16, Current Board Member)
