Central to Art Farm is the 12,000 square foot barn complex: A project, stretching over seven years, of moving five barns. More than just buildings moved—with each barn came a story: one farmer might recall how once during the 1930’s locusts devoured nearly everything—including all the paint on one barn; a second farmer might point to the areas on another barn he repaired after damage from lightning strikes. The barns are from 60 to 100+ years old and within their structure, they tell a visual story of an owner’s attempts to adapt with changing times. This is vernacular architecture based on oral tradition and observation.

Prairie barn builders adapted a plan and a shape from a general concept and then individually modified it to serve their needs. In that tradition, the work at Art Farm of restoring, repairing, and converting barns for studio space continues on to this day. Because of its size and ever changing shape the barn complex is now known as the ”Mutant Little House on the Prairie.”