Evolution of the Studio
Olivia Ann Carye Hallstein
Founder, Head Designer


With over a decade of experience
as a designer and educator, Olivia Ann Carye Hallstein founded Edible Nest Studio in 2021 with a vision informed by her many years of practice in varied environments. Transcending disciplines, Olivia began her career designing event spaces and theater stages, costumes, and puppets in Berlin, Germany from the age of 19. She became part of infamous artist collectives that had spontaneously developed after reunification, where creative freedom reigned. It was at this young age, that she attempted her first studio AOImperfekt with Alia Zola and created the “Imperfekt Manifesto” after which it was named.


After spending some time studying
theatrical set and costume design at Weissensee Art Academy and simultaneously designing for theater and exhibiting as a performance artist, painter, and musician, she shifted focus to start “…impy…” in Berlin, Neukoelln. “…impy…” was a community-oriented arts studio that worked with small businesses and cafes in the Berlin-Neukoelln area providing workshops and creative interventions.
During this time,
Olivia created handmade original-design fashion collections, recipes, songs for banjo and ukulele, puppets, curricula, and began using art and performance to organize against displacement due to gentrification with significant success. Despite growing interest in “…impy…”s work, Olivia and the studio also fell victim to the pressures of gentrification, and “…impy…” closed its doors in 2016.



From there,
Olivia returned to the Boston area to complete her BFA at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University. Working under the tutelage of Dr. Eulogio Guzman, a pre-columbian social art historian, Olivia gained skills in research, writing, and presentation while expanding her understanding beyond the European Canon of art, integrating diverse histories, and the interdependence of social, economic, cultural, political, and environmental impacts. She has continued after graduation at the SMFA and Tufts University as an instructor, guest lecturer, mentor, and in sustainability programming to this day.
In the meantime,
another studio iteration began in 2019, “The JoLiv Collaborative”. “The JoLiv Collaborative” focused on multi-sensorial design. This led to a body of work presenting a “harmony of art and music”, exhibited at the ComProvisations exhibition with musical performances, recordings, and compositions by Jonas Kublickas, and Harrison Sayed.


It was at this time
that Olivia began her regular interviews, reviews and written articles for the environmental arts platform ‘EcoArtSpace’, which she continues to do to this day.

Swiftly switching gears,
the COVID-19 pandemic changed the nature of “The JoLiv Collaborative” to an increasingly remote and environmental focus. It was during this time that “The JoLiv Collaborative” was dissolved and the elements of the existing “Edible Nest Studio” were formed.


Since then,
“Edible Nest Studio” continues to expand and evolve in depth and practice to become a hub for community, growth, creativity, and thriving.

Career Highlights include:
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Royal Society for the Arts Fellow 2011 to present,
Tufts University instructor & consultant,
Hoch Cunningham Lecture “Make the World you Want to See” 2020,
SMFA Health Safety and Sustainability Day 2019-2022,
Center for the Sustainable Practice in the Arts 2020-present,
Ecoartspace Member Spotlight,
City of Boston Housing ILab,
Art and Culture Working Group (UN),
Entertainment Net-Zero Alliance (UN Climate Change),
EcoArtSpace contributing writer,
KiFutures,
"Earth keeper's Handbook" 2023,
"Art in Agriculture" by Silvia Bottinelli 2023,
"Artist as Mindset"-Art & Society Conference 2023,
"Creativity in Scarcity- Food Studies Conference 2023,
Global Studies Conference,
Conference on the Image,
The Nature of Cities Festival,
UPWARD Gallery,
JoLiv Collaborative,
Maitri,
UKAI,
Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute,
the MFA Boston,
Piano Craft Gallery,
…impy…,
Maxim-Gorki Theater,
Deutsches Theater,
LA54,
Uferhallen,
RAW Temple,
Der Kanal,
BAT theater,
TIK Theater,
AOImperfekt,
and more.
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