Best Practice: Sara ten Westenend: Where Art, Farming, and the Short Supply Chain Come Together

In Attenrode (Glabbeek) lies a farm that, at first glance, may seem like any other: a place where people work, dig in the earth, grow crops, and where the seasons set the rhythm. But behind this façade lies an exceptional artistic ecosystem that is slowly but surely evolving into a breeding ground for sustainable initiatives, experimentation, and connection. The driving force behind this movement is Sara ten Westenend, visual artist, educator, and culinary pioneer. Her story is one of a quest for the origins of food, the role of art in society, and the potential of a farm as a learning space for future generations.

From Amsterdam to Attenrode: art taking root in the earth

Sara was trained at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. Art was her first language, but cooking ran through it like a second thread from the very beginning:

“Cooking, art, and food have actually always gone hand in hand in my life.”

She started out catering at Dutch museums, later worked in the cultural sector—including at the Ancienne Belgique and Opera Ballet Vlaanderen—and discovered over the years just how much food and creativity continued to cross her path. Yet one question kept gnawing at her: where does what I cook actually come from?

That question was answered when she met Maarten, an organic farmer. His farm became a new artistic and ecological starting point for her. Whereas she used to cook for people, she now began to look at the soil, the seasons, the labor, and the reality behind the food.

It was a revelation. The farm turned out to be a place where art, ecology, sensory experience, social dynamics, stories, and visions of the future converge. A place with the potential to let others experience what food truly means—as a production process, but also as a human and cultural value.

The farm as an artistic and ecological school

In 2021, Sara launched her ongoing project You hunter You, an exercise in relearning how to look, feel, listen, and navigate by trusting one’s instincts. Each year brings a new episode, not predetermined but organically emerging from what the place and the participants offer. This approach reflects Sara’s vision: art is not an object to be consumed, but an experience of which you yourself are a part. She emphasizes that participants are not spectators, but “co-creators.”

A summer full of experimentation: 160 years of the farm, a week of workshops and organic, short-chain cuisine

One of the projects that will be in the spotlight this year is the summer event celebrating 160 years of the farm and 30 years of organic farmer Maarten. It will be a festive and experimental week from July 8 to 12, where art, food, and short-chain production go hand in hand.

What can the public expect?

Daily workshops led by architecture students (KU Leuven, Brussels campus) and other young creators. The roles are reversed: students become teachers. Their workshops explore themes such as the use of materials on the farm, textiles, ecology, and personal food stories.

Accessibility is key: The workshops are offered for free; only lunch is paid for.

Evening dinners prepared by chefs from the cultural sector, each featuring vegetables from the farm and surrounding organic farmers. Short supply chains are central to this. Ingredients come straight from the field.

An open and social experiment, a combination of learning together, eating together, and discovering together.

The week doesn’t have an official name yet, but its content is rock-solid. It will be an ode to collaboration, sustainability, and land-based creativity.

The farm as a learning space for the future

Sara is collaborating with Lars Fischer and his architecture students from KU Leuven, who approach the farm as a closed ecological system. A place where living, working, and farming influence one another. The farm thus becomes a mirror for broader questions: How do you build systems that are in balance? How do you design infrastructure that grows with its environment?

This link between spatial planning, food production, and ecology is rare but desperately needed. Students come from various countries, from Brazil to Ukraine, and bring their own memories of agriculture and food with them. The farm thus becomes an international learning environment where culture, ecology, and architecture converge.

The collaboration with LOV2030

Sara was invited by LOV2030 to develop her own program within LET’S EAT. Together with the non-profit organization NDRGRND (underground), she will further develop the idea of the farm as a (inter)national and regional outdoor school. Preparations are in full swing, and the summer program offers a small taste of what’s to come. Starting in 2027, residencies and new projects will begin, building a truly sustainable program before, during, and after LOV2030.

Fall program: loss, biodiversity, and a dinner among the stories

In October, another special event will take place where art, ecology, and humanity converge. The farm will present a musical and visual performance on dementia alongside a literary work exploring the loss of biodiversity, presented by the participating artists, each of whom makes a form of loss tangible through their own practice.

Two different forms of loss are sensitively connected here: the intimate loss of a person, and the more abstract loss of species and ecosystems.

During this event, visitors will take their seats at the table on the farm. The courses of the meal will be interwoven with parts of the performance. Art and food literally merge into one another.

Short supply chains, connectedness, and the importance of the small

Throughout the conversation with Sara, one message keeps coming up: our connection to food is fundamental, but has often been lost. The farm and its projects aim to restore that relationship through encounter, sensory experience, and awareness.

“We shouldn’t strive for convenience, but for something that is human.”

That humanity is found in the short supply chain: organic vegetables with blemishes, apples you peel yourself, seasons that determine what ends up on the table. It’s also found in collaborating with farmers, artists, students, and local residents. And in the knowledge that an active organic farm, with its challenges, labor, and reality, is not a museum exhibit, but a living system that demands care and cooperation.

Seeking Collaborations: The Farm as a Networking Hub

In addition to participating in the summer week and the October event, Sara would like to extend an open invitation. In the coming years, the farm aims to focus even more strongly on collaborations with organizations and individuals from the arts sector, education, the social economy, and sustainability. Anyone who sees opportunities to contribute to this growing ecosystem based on their expertise is welcome to email hidden; JavaScript is required.

Conclusion: a unique place in Flanders

The combination of agriculture, art, short supply chains, education, and sustainability makes this place exceptional. It is a laboratory for future coexistence, where you stand with your feet in the clay, your hands in the food, and your head in new ideas.