(WASSAIC, N.Y.) – The artist-run Wassaic Project, a multidisciplinary arts organization located within reclaimed agricultural buildings in the hamlet of Wassaic, N.Y., will present Homeward Found, an exhibition of works by over 80 emerging artists, as part of its summer season. The Wassaic Project Summer Festival, a three-day celebration of art, music and community, will showcase over 100 artists, 25 bands, film screenings, dance events, and a new performance art series, taking place Friday, August 2 through Sunday, August 4.

Opening Saturday, June 15, 2013, with a ticketed preview party, Homeward Found will be based in the one-of-a-kind Maxon Mills, a renovated, seven-story grain elevator. Every Saturday and Sunday, beginning Sunday, June 16, and running through Sunday, September 2, 2013, from noon to 5 pm, visitors can view bold contemporary paintings, sculpture, videos and intricate installations free of charge.

Homeward Found is curated by Wassaic Project co-directors Eve Biddle, Bowie Zunino and Jeff Barnett-Winsby, and artist and exhibition director Shannon Finnegan; and guest jurors Kathleen Smith, Exhibitions Director, New Art Center, Newton, Mass.; Henry Klimowicz, artist and director, The Re Institute; Elizabeth McTernan, artist; and Andrew Haarsager, founder, MinorAsset.com.

This year will also feature works by co-directors Jeff Barnett-Winsby and Eve Biddle (who collaborates with Joshua Frankel as Biddle/Frankel.)

Juxtaposed with historic buildings in a beautiful rural setting, the summer festival challenges the white walls of traditional art spaces with site-sensitive installations and a series of multidisciplinary performances. The festival offers a free, weekend-long opportunity for the public, as well as participating artists of all mediums, to gather together, exchange ideas, and engage in a thriving arts community. Featured artists will include:

FILM:  Martin Starr, guest speaker, actor and filmmaker; screening of Social Butterfly, starring Wassaic Project alumna Anna Margaret Hollyman (Adelaide) and directed by Lauren Wolkstein (The Strange Ones).

MUSIC:  Superhuman Happiness, which debuted its first full-length CD Hands in March to national acclaim.

DANCE: New Milford, Conn.-based Earl Mosley Institute for the Arts.

The Wassaic Artist Residency Project conducts a year-round Artist Residency Program, where 10 artists-in-residence live and work in raw studio space in Wassaic, and receive critiques from guest curators and visiting artists. Their studios will be open to visitors and their works showcased in the Luther Barn, a former livestock auction structure, on the last Saturdays of May (25), June (29), July (27), August (31), September (28) and October (26), free to the public.  Open Studio Hours are 3 – 5 pm, with a guided tour of the Summer Exhibition at 4 pm.

For the last five years the Wassaic Project has gained a reputation for high-quality visual and performing arts programs in re-purposed agriculture buildings, with over 5,000 visitors each summer. The Wassaic Project exists to provide a genuine and intimate context for art-making through “creative place-making” – harnessing the power of art to reshape and revitalize communities. It seeks to strengthen its community by increasing social and cultural capital through the inspiration, promotion and creation of contemporary visual and performing art.  By forging connections between artists of all disciplines and the public in its unique location, the Wassaic Project explores new ways of working in the arts and experiencing art itself.

The Summer Exhibition and Summer Festival at the Maxon Mills (37 Furnace Bank Rd., Wassaic, N.Y.) and Last Saturdays in The Luther Barn (17 Furnace Bank Rd., Wassaic, N.Y.) are within walking distance from Metro North’s Harlem line Wassaic Station.  For schedules and fares, visit Metro North’s Harlem line.  Driving distance is 90 miles, a 1¾ hour drive from the New York City area.

Visitors are invited to camp at The Wassaic Project’s Luther Barn field for the Summer Festival, August 2-4.  Tickets for camping over the entire weekend can be purchased online at wassaicproject.org in advance for $40, or on-site during the Festival for $60.  No camping equipment will be provided at the site and only gas camping stoves are permitted on the grounds. Lodging is also available nearby.