Allowed to Grow Old: Unity Farm Sanctuary Tour and Book Reading with Isa Leshko

Join photographer Isa Leshko at Unity Farm Sanctuary in Sherborn MA for a reading of stories from Isa’s newly released book, Allowed to Grow Old, and a tour of a very special farm sanctuary. Jointly hosted by The Griffin Museum and Unity Farm Sanctuary, this will be a wonderful way to learn about the important work of places like Unity Farm Sanctuary, as well as engage with photographer Isa Leshko, hear her share stories of her photographing animals in places like Unity Farm, and hear her read some animal stories from her book, Allowed to Grow Old.

This programming is brought to you in conjunction with Isa’s solo exhibit at The Griffin Museum of Photography, Allowed to Grow Old. You can pre-purchase the book when you reserve your space for the tour below. We will have the book waiting for you at the event, and Isa will gladly sign it for you there!

This is a kid-friendly and photographer-friendly event. Please reserve your space as there are limited tickets for the tour. Hope to see you there!

About Isa Leshko

Isa Leshko © Ron Cowie

Isa Leshko is an artist whose work examines themes relating to animal rights, aging, and mortality. Isa’s images have been been published in The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, The Guardian, Harper’s Magazine, The New York Times, and Süddeutsche Zeitung. In May 2019, the University of Chicago Press published her first monograph, Allowed to Grow Old: Portraits of Elderly Rescued Farm Animals, which included essays by activist Gene Baur, NY Times bestselling author Sy Montgomery, and curator Anne Wilkes Tucker. Isa has received fellowships from the Bogliasco Foundation, the Culture & Animals Foundation, the Houston Center for Photography, the Millay Colony for the Arts, and the Silver Eye Center for Photography. She has exhibited her work widely in the United States, and her prints are in numerous private and public collections including the Boston Public Library, Fidelity Investments, the Harry Ransom Center, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

About Unity Farm Sanctuary

Founders Dr. John Halamka and Kathy Halamka created Unity Farm Sanctuary in late 2016. The mission of Unity Farm Sanctuary is to provide a safe and loving lifelong home for farm animals, to offer the public unique educational programs, and to promote a culture of kindness and connection. Residents here include alpaca, horses, ponies, miniature horses, sheep, cows, goats, pigs and a vast array of poultry. We network with the community and other organizations to help as many farm animals as possible find loving lifelong homes. By working together with the community on topics such as farm animal care, sustainable organic farming practices, the power of kindness, and volunteerism, we hope to extend our impact for positive change for animals and people alike.

Each rescue here arrives with a special story. It has been a particularly rewarding experience to see our latest unique rescue Dudley the Scottish Highland Bull settle in here at his new home. Dudley’s followers on Facebook exploded from a few hundred to 6000 when he arrived! This public awareness is spilling over to the Sanctuary, and the best-kept secret in Sherborn is now gaining recognition!

The Sanctuary is located minutes away from the Mass Pike in Natick, yet is worlds away from urban life in bucolic wooded Sherborn, MA. Visitors are encouraged to walk the trails here that connect with the Bay Circuit Trail and are open in daylight hours.