About Us

The North Street Project is designed for artists, writers, and creative thinkers who are at a turning point—those who have already built something but are now searching for their next step, next body of work, or next way of working.

• Mid-to-late career artists and writers who are evolving their practice and seeking fresh inspiration.
• Artists embracing reinvention—whether shifting mediums, exploring new ideas, or refining their creative identity.
• Makers and craftspeople who value handwork, material intelligence, and sustainable practices.
• Place-based and nature-inspired artists—those working with land, ecology, and history in their creative process.
• Writers and thinkers drawn to deep observation, reflection, and storytelling that connects personal experience to the wider world.
• Artists who feel disconnected from traditional institutions and are seeking a more collaborative, non-hierarchical, and community-driven approach.
• People who want to make meaningful work—not necessarily commercially driven, but thoughtful, regenerative, and engaged with the world.

Norh Street is for those who have already built something and are now looking to reimagine what’s next. 

The North Street Project evolved from The North Street Collective, an artist residency program and creative retreat in Willits, Mendocino County, California. It started with a house and a garden—an unassuming space that became a creative sanctuary. People gathered around the fire, sharing stories, laughter, and ideas. They wrote books at the big wooden table, sculpted in the yard, and left behind paintings, songs, and meals. For over a decade, we hosted almost 100 artists from around the world and apprentices from all around town. They used the space to get work done. 

This all happened in Willits, California, a small town nestled in the heart of the redwoods, a place where the natural world still takes center stage—where fog rolls through the trees in the morning and the stars shine bright at night. Willits is also place of resilience, of deep-rooted communities, of creativity that grows in the spaces between the wild and the human. It is where people came with their questions and dreams, where art and relationships grew together, and where creative apprenticeships flourished—mentorships that fostered the next generation of makers.

The North Street Project carries that spirit forward. While we no longer have a single physical space, we bring that same sense of place, presence, and possibility wherever we go. Our roots, like those of the redwoods, spread outward—building relationships, inspiring collaboration, and creating spaces for meaningful work. We are a living archive of creativity, a moving sanctuary for artists, writers, and makers of all kinds who are redefining their craft.

Art doesn’t stand apart from nature—it emerges from it. At North Street, we embrace creative practices that mirror the intelligence, resilience, and renewal of the natural world. 

Nature isn’t just a backdrop to creativity—it’s an active participant. The North Street Project is built on the idea that creative practice and ecological thinking are inseparable.

We believe in:

Creative practices that mirror natural cycles—renewing, evolving, and regenerating over time.
Deep observation—learning from the intelligence of materials, seasons, and ecosystems.
Sustainability in art—both in terms of environmental impact and long-term creative resilience.