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Craig Adams got his first look at Djerassi Resident Artists Program the way most visitors do: with the hikes that lead people on a 3.5-mile trek to see art installations tucked into the forests and meadows on the sprawling Woodside property. The pieces have been created by artists participating in the Djerassi residency program over the past 40 years.
But he wasn’t visiting; he really got to know the place, leading art hikes for four years as a volunteer. Adams had already been volunteering with conservation nonprofit Peninsula Open Space Trust, which has partnered with the Djerassi organization to manage its land.
Now Adams can, at least in theory, go for an art hike every day, but he’s likely to have plenty of other things to do as the new executive director for the Djerassi Resident Artists Program.
“The property is gorgeous, so you’re combining art with amazing California redwood forest and rolling hills, and then art through it all. And you know, that really got me,” he said of the program’s location on a 563-acre mountain ranch that’s about 12 miles from downtown Woodside.
The art, the emphasis on conservation and the chance to get involved drew Adams to Djerassi, he said.
“I’ve always enjoyed art. I’ve always enjoyed photography, going to museums, artist talks, book talks. I’m a big reader, and then you get up to Djerassi and realize that they have four writers’ studios. Some of my favorite writers have written books or written other pieces out of those studios,” Adams said.Â
“Then you see all the art, and the photographers that have been there, and the sculptors and the painters, and all the sculptures and installations that are out through the forest. So for me, it combines this deep love and appreciation for art and a deep love and appreciation for conservation,” he said.
Adams grew up around art. His father enjoyed photography as a hobby, and passed along an affinity for the medium.
“When I was in high school, they bought me my first Nikon, an FE2, a film camera, and I was a foreign exchange student in Indonesia. And I just loved it. I loved that ability to take photos of people in place, because that’s what I really enjoy, and to capture scenes. You know what you see when you look through the viewfinder? Because you might have a big scene that’s all over the place, and through the viewfinder and zooming in, either with a lens or yourself, you can start to shape the vision,” he said.
Adams’ own experiences with photography have also given him an appreciation for what the residency can offer artists.
“I think it’s like creating any piece of art or any work. It’s a rare day when you can just pull the camera out of the bag, pull it up to your eye, and bang off a shot, and it’s a keeper, right? Photographers know that Ansel Adams did that once … but that’s not the way it works,” he said,
“You need time to make it work. You might have to come back to a place again and again and again. You might have to take 60 or 70 shots over a long afternoon or many afternoons. (Artists) have got to have some time. And, you know, that’s what Djerassi does for its artists. It gives people time and space.”
Adams had a long career in telecommunications, working in Hong Kong and Singapore for the bulk of the ’90s. He has lived off and on in the Bay Area since 2000, with an eight-year stint in Beijing, and has lived in Woodside since 2024.
When he and his family returned to the Bay Area from China, Adams began helping out with fundraising for his children’s school, working with the Woodside School Foundation. As he also began volunteering with POST, he learned from Djerassi Hike Program Director Danny Goldberg that the program needed more volunteers to lead hikes and he also started helping out with other activities and fundraising for the program.
In fact, it was partly his experience in fundraising, as well as his familiarity with the program and the Djerassi board and staff, that encouraged Adams to apply for the executive director role when the previous director, Martin Rauchbauer, announced his departure.
“I just knew a lot about the organization, and I wanted to be more involved. And I thought that my background, particularly with the Woodside School Foundation — for five years, I ran all of their communications for all of their fundraising. And Djerassi really survives on fundraising. Not as much of it comes now from big grants from government entities,” he said.
“That whole model has changed. So this is really, ‘how do you communicate what you do out there, and make the work that Djerassi does more public, more open, and communicate it more broadly, so that you find those people who are really into supporting arts and into supporting conserving lands like that?'”Â
Adams has led some art hikes that aim to get donors acquainted with the program, he said. In that same vein, Djerassi is beginning to offer more public programming, such as sound immersion experiences and one-time events, including a silent retreat on March 14, to bring the community to experience the property and its art.
“We’re at 43 years and counting, which is kind of amazing for an artist-in-residency program. I’m very focused on getting Djerassi to the 50th-year celebration and really getting some good finance and fundraising. Finance for the arts as a whole, whether it’s San Mateo County or the entire state or the entire nation — the model has completely changed. So that needs to change a bit, so I can see where we add more events for the public,” he said.
Adams also pointed out that, given the ranch’s somewhat remote location, even some longtime locals may not have visited, or know about the program.
Djerassi recently hosted a 10-day residency for alumni of the program and each summer, also brings a group of scientists from Leonardo/The International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology for a science-focused residency — kind of a full-circle moment for the program, Adams noted, as it was founded by scientist Carl Djerassi, in memory of his artist daughter, Pamela.
“We have brought in over 2700 artists who have worked out there, and most of the artists that come are at some level of accomplishment. And this really becomes a place where people have time and space to create,” he said,
Visit djerassi.org more information about the Djerassi Resident Artists Program and a schedule of upcoming events.
