What began as a sanity-saver during quarantine has grown into a full-fledged fine art narrative project rooted in history, memory, and place.

 

Documenting Disappearing Family Farmsteads began in Minnesota and continues to expand throughout the Midwest. I collaborate with landowners, descendants, and former residents of abandoned farms to gather their stories—memories of the house, the land, the work, and the lives lived there. Some bring old photos, handwritten recipes, or cherished mementos. Others offer quiet recollections of growing up barefoot in the barnyard or watching storms roll across the fields.

 

These stories are paired with my photographs of the farmsteads as they are today—peeling paint, weathered doors, wallpaper faded by time. The images and narratives come together in exhibitions, prints, and future publications that aim to preserve not just the look of these places, but their essence.

 

This project is both a preservation effort and a love letter—to a way of life that is rapidly vanishing. The urgency is real. In the past year alone, several of the homes I’ve documented have been demolished or burned down. When a farmhouse disappears, it’s not just the structure we lose—it’s the stories tied to it. The echoes of laughter in the kitchen. The worn path to the barn. The memories of those who called it home.

 

By capturing what remains, I hope to honor what was—and help ensure those legacies live on.

 

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If you,  a friend or family member have a property and would like to collaborate on this project, also, please email- ddff.nisafiin@gmail.com