The Mary Olson Farm Artist in Residence program began in the summer of 2018.
The City of Auburn program offers the opportunity for an artist to pursue their work in, and to be inspired by, the unique and beautiful setting of the Mary Olson Farm in Auburn, Washington. The residency lasts two months, providing the artist with a large indoor barn studio, a stipend, and access to the 67 acre farm.
2025 Artist in Residence:
Jahnvi Madan
About the Artist:
Jahnvi Madan is a clarinetist and composer from Seattle whose music reflects her lived experience -- a response to the invisibility she felt growing up as a first generation Indian American, unsure of how she was living every day when nothing reflected who she was or how she felt.
She strives to now make those experiences visible through sonic expression, and concretely create a true space of belonging that brings an audience together, brings more first- generation people of color, Asian people, into these rooms they are absent from, and through that, allow jazz music to find new audiences within her city.
"Music for me has always been a method of storytelling and self-expression. I would love the opportunity to connect my own story to the story of this historic farm by composing a new instrumental work, and then share it through a performance for Auburn’s local community. The piece would be focused on themes of permanence and displacement, as well as the link between my own family’s farming story against that of the Olson’s. (I would donate a score and/or recording to the city.)"
-Jahnvi Madan
2025 FREE Public Programs:
June 14 | Mary Olson Farm
12:30-2:00 PM | Open Studio
2:30-4:00 PM | Free Workshop "The Listening Farm: Composing Nature’s Elements"
In this free workshop, Artist-in Residence Jahnvi Madan will introduce participants to the world of music composition by drawing connections between nature sounds and music-making. With no musical training needed, attendees will practice deep listening, learn the foundations of composition, and collaboratively create short pieces inspired by nature. Jahnvi will also share how the Mary Olson farm’s soundscapes have influenced her own composition while in residency.
FREE | ALL AGES
Register now!
July 12 | Mary Olson Farm
1:00-3:00 PM | Open Rehearsal
Guests are invited to come and watch an open rehearsal session by Artist in Residence Jahnvi Madan, providing a preview of her new instrumental work.
FREE | ALL AGES
July 26 | Postmark Center for the Arts
3:00-4:00 PM | Final Artist in Residence Performance
Artist in Residence Jahnvi Madan will be performing her new composition at the Postmark Center for the Arts. Her new piece pays homage to the farm’s story and her own connection between MOF and her own family's history of farming.
FREE | ALL AGES
Register now!
For more information about the Mary Olson Farm, please visit the White River Valley Museum website
This art program is coordinated in partnership between the City of Auburn Parks, Arts & Recreation Department and the White River Valley Museum, with the support of the Auburn Arts Commission and 4Culture/King County Lodging Tax Fund.