About Higher Spargo
The Art School
The Higher Spargo Farm has for over four decades quietly nurtured a community of artists and craftspeople. Wild, rough around the edges, and bursting with creative energy, it remains – in the words of its resident artists – ‘unique’.
Higher Spargo’s story begins with the land itself – a working farm that has been in the same family for generations – and, Michael Polkinhorn, who started welcoming art students onto the farm as lodgers in 1983. What started as a simple, generous gesture accidentally gave rise to a thriving artistic community. While the farm was never intended to be an art school, residency, or collective, over time it became all of those things in its own, distinctly Spargo way.
Now, Alex and Carolyn, who have recently arrived at Higher Spargo, are welcoming new artists to this extraordinary place through a growing programme of courses and masterclasses. Set to be delivered by the internationally recognised artists already in The Yard, and the wider art community of West Cornwall, a new generation of alumni will join Higher Spargo’s evolving story.
“For us, opening our doors for courses this year feels as if it is the start - although the beginning was conceivably long before this...”
— Alex & Carolyn
We look forward to welcoming you to The Yard.
The Farm
Higher Spargo is a small family farm close to both Falmouth and Penryn in Cornwall. Recently taken on by Alex and Carolyn, they are continuing a long tradition of thoughtful connection to the land while also reimagining what a working farm can be.
Alex, a social scientist with a background in environmental policy and sustainable governance, and Carolyn, an artist and trained horticulturalist, are using their combined expertise to guide the farm towards more regenerative and wildlife-friendly practices. Such as planting orchards and wood pasture, and nurturing the soil, methods which support biodiversity, while still producing food.
They have a deep appreciation for the natural world, often commenting how season by season, Higher Spargo reveals its beauty:
“We love the bluebells in the spring, the swathes of red campion and cow parsley in the summer and the rich colours of autumn reflected in the waters of Argal Lake.”
Higher Spargo is no ordinary farm, it’s a place shaped by careful stewardship and ecological awareness.
Photography: Alex Frew
Writer: Muirne MacKinlay MacLeod