The KINection Garden at the Taos Land Trust is a living artwork that builds soil, provides ecological art materials to the community, and helps human participants reconnect with the web of life through self-guided walks, a children’s playscape, makers’ workshops, and public gatherings that support the regenerative lifeways present in Northern New Mexico. What if art materials were kin, not commodity? The KINection Garden integrates a visually rich mosaic of dye and fiber plants into a peaceful environment for the community. This living artwork is made to enjoy – through the senses and through the spirit.

The KINection Garden is a National Endowment of the Arts fellowship project sponsored by the Taos Center for the Arts, The Harwood Museum and the Taos Land Trust, in the center of Taos, New Mexico. This living artwork engages the public in Rio Fernando Park, under the care of the Taos Land Trust. Over one hundred people visit the park daily. Ground breaking was in June 2026, with help from the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps, and the Youth Conservation Corps. As a Community Art Fellow, Carol Padberg has a six month fellowship to create KINection Garden. A work in progress, the KINection Garden already features a dye garden, hardscaping for paths, and extensive native plantings. The project is scheduled to open in September 2026.

Follow the progress of the KINection's Garden at https://www.instagram.com/carolpadbergstudio/

Donations to the project can be arranged by contacting Nora Wicks at the Taos Land Trust at wicks@taoslandtrust.org.