STEWARDING SINGULAR PLACES, TOGETHER

ABEN is a national peer network for the stewardship of artist-built environments. 

We connect site stewards, share field knowledge, and build the collective capacity these irreplaceable places need — to thrive, and to honor the artists' legacies they carry.



About the Artist-Built Environment Network


ABEN is a national peer network of artist-built environment site stewards, co-created in 2020, becoming an independent 501c3 non-profit organization in 2025.

ABEN is working to establish systems and strategies that enable effective resource and idea sharing across the Network so that these sites and their communities can thrive, and that the artists’ legacies are honored for years to come.

  • We promote dialogue and collaboration between artist-built environments that are, or aim to be, open to the public for the purposes of education, study, and enjoyment.
  • We assist established, emerging, and endangered artist-built environments in developing reasonable strategies for stewardship, conservation, interpretation, and educational and outreach programming that are informed by the artist's unique creative legacy.
  • We connect artist-built environments and work in collaboration to advocate for, and communicate the value of, artist-built environments to national and international audiences.
  • We empower artists/creators and their communities to develop unique organizational strategies to serve public audiences.
  • Like many artists who build these art environments, we believe in challenging structures and practices that don’t align with or honor the artist’s intention or seek to strip sites of their individuality.



ABEN Convenings


Starting in 2023, site stewards from across the country have gathered to share resources, explore sites, and exchange stories. These annual convenings change with every host site, with topics tailored to site stewards’ needs.



ABEN
ABEN 


2026 Site Stewards Convening: 


Host: Noah Purifoy Outdoor Desert Art Museum,
Joshua Tree, CA


Past Convenings:


2025 Host: Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens
Philadelphia, PA

2024 Host: The Waelderhaus & John Michael Kohler Arts Center
Sheboygan, WI

2023 Host: Pasaquan
Columbus & Buena Vista, GA



ABEN Member Sites




ABEN Member Sites are:


U.S. and Territories-based 

Publically-accessible: An art environment that is a nonprofit and publicly accessible or is seeking to become a nonprofit and publicly accessible 

Considered by the ABEN community as an art environment: A personal space like a home, garden, or studio that’s been fully transformed into a life- and site-specific work of art.


ABEN Governance

We have a membership-based governance, with a Board of Directors





Board of Directors

President: Erika Nelson, S.P. Dinsmoor’s Garden of Eden

Vice President: Michael McFalls, Pasaquan

Secretary: Annalise Flynn, L.V. Hull Legacy Center

Treasurer: Kevin Rose, Hartman Rock Garden

Emily Smith, Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens

Hannah Blunt, Langlais Art Preserve

Jennifer Jameson Merchant, Folklorist & Consultant

The Board consists of 5-15 members, with the ability to have one at-large (non site-based) member

Board do due diligence to look for members to rotate in or join committees, however any member can nominate/request being considered for a committee or board position

An annual meeting (either in-person or virtual) is held once a year.


ABEN History

In 2020 Kevin Rose, curator of the Hartman Rock Garden (Springfield OH), and Erika Nelson, Cultural Resources Director of The Garden of Eden (Lucas, Kansas) met (via zoom) with representatives of artist-built environments from around the country, to discuss forming a network of site stewards, to share information, experiences, and ideas about the preservation and operation of this genre of American art, history, culture, and landscapes.

From this happy bunch, a regular series of meetings were coordinated online, until we had the opportunity to gather in person at the newly opened JMKAC Art Preserve in Sheboygan Wisconsin. From there, we formalized our independent group of stewards, forming a steering committee, and establishing the framework for the Artist-Built Environment Network.  We formalized our organization in 2025 after consent from the assembled group of sites, incorporating in the State of Kansas (equidistant from East and West coasts, as well as North and South borders), seeking and receiving our IRS 501(c)3 status later that year.