A substantial lead gift from Joan and Peter Hood will help “get the ball rolling” on improvements in Allerton Park and Retreat Center’s Artisan Village.
Their donation will support programming and long-term facility care for The Farms: An Allerton Folk School, in addition to serving as a contingency to supplement initial construction costs.
The Hoods, who live in Urbana, are longtime supporters of the University of Illinois, where both had distinguished careers. The gift is in memory of Joan’s parents, Marjorie and Frank MacFarlane, for whom the village will be named.
“They loved education and the arts — visual and performing. They were real artisans in the true sense of the word,” said Joan Hood, noting that her dad designed houses and was an early adopter of organic gardening, while her mother loved painting, rug hooking and square dancing.
“They were just creative people and valued education highly, so when we learned about the Artisan Village, it seemed like the perfect thing to do,” she added.
The MacFarlane Artisan Village (MAV), located across from the park’s Visitor Center, already hosts many of the folk school’s courses in The Studio, a Robert Allerton original building that has been renovated to host a variety of classes, including those in fiber arts, painting, birding, natural sciences and more.
Additional buildings in the MAV— one of which can be traced back to the time Robert Allerton began creating the Monticello-area estate in 1900 — will also be repurposed into classrooms, public restrooms, a crafting workshop and more. Construction of an outdoor pavilion and a quad-style walkway between buildings are also included in the plans.
The seven-figure gift from the Hoods is in the form of an endowment, meaning the principal will be invested and interest can be spent each year. Although it will not fund major construction, Allerton Executive Director Derek Peterson said it will “get the ball rolling” by adding impetus to the ambitious plan for the Village.
“It’s not going to pay for the major renovations and construction, but it will give us confidence to move forward and seek additional donors,” Peterson said.
The gift will also provide consistent funds to keep the folk school operating for years to come by supporting public programming and educational outreach for The Farms.
Peterson adds the park has been repurposing structures into programming space for several years, which honors the legacy of Robert Allerton.
“There’s a sustainable aspect to it. In most cases, we are not adding square footage. If we are, it is minimal, so there is little disruption to the environment,” he said.
“The buildings have a certain charm that we don’t want to lose,” added Bridget Frerichs, Allerton’s Associate Director of Advancement. “They were being used — mostly for maintenance and storage — but they can serve a bigger purpose.”
The Hoods previously helped fund the In-Residence program, which has brought 19 artists and naturalists to live and create at the park since its inception in 2020, including current residents Dodd Holsapple, an artist; and musicians Tania Arazi Coambs and Larisa Chasanov.
Peterson said the In-Residence program has been “wildly successful in helping us to grow our community at Allerton.”
Joan Hood said it also gave the couple confidence to add on with the gift to support the Artisan Village.
“Allerton’s been really important to us and we are thrilled with the changes and the vision that Derek has brought. The programming has been amazing,” she said, noting it is also a perfect way to honor her parents.
“We’re glad to have the opportunity to make this gift and to remember my parents in this way.”
