CLIENT: invest in our land
American Farmers For Conservation
Services
Creative Direction
Strategy & Planning
Experience Design
Venue
Congress Building — Rayburn Foyer
The Challenge
Invest in Our Land is a farmer-led organization working to secure the future of conservation funding in American agriculture — giving the producers who steward the land a direct voice in the policy decisions that shape it. In the spring of 2026 they brought that case to the halls of Congress, and Dirt Empire was proud to design and supervise the immersive installation for a reception at the Rayburn House Office Building Foyer.
Working under creative director Lee Hirsch, whose documentary portraits of farmers and ranchers form the heart of Invest in Our Land's archive, our role was to translate those stories into a visual narrative suited to the historic architecture of the Capitol. The films supported the launch of American Farmers for Conservation, a grassroots network advocating for the people who work the land. By projecting these stories directly onto the marble walls of the foyer, we aimed to give the delegation's meetings with congressional leadership a backdrop with real weight behind it.
The installation demanded a one-day turnaround, and our production partners at Quince Imaging executed it beautifully, ensuring the visual delivery matched the prestige of such a storied venue. It was a rare opportunity to collaborate with Invest in Our Land and Monument Advocacy on behalf of American producers.
The evening featured a performance by the Cantate Choir and remarks from Invest in Our Land leadership Rebecca Bartels, South Dakota Representative Dusty Johnson, and producers Rodney Koch and Michael Fruge. We are grateful to have played a part in helping this group of farmers and ranchers carry their message to policymakers in Washington.
Photos from the live event at the Rayburn Foyer in Congress
The PROCESS
Dirt Empire worked closely with Lee Hirsch and the Invest in Our Land team to adapt their beautifully shot archive of farmer stories to the three-walled projection environment of the Rayburn Foyer. We had the good fortune of collaborating with a team that knew their content intimately and were adept at shaping a new visual narrative for the building's vast interior. We created two projection experiences to transform the space: a looping museum-style installation of farmer portraits, and a second dialogue-driven narrative built to accompany the remarks, live performance, and audience during the reception itself.
Image Left: Previsualization of content & Image Right: Projection setup and calibration at Rayburn Foyer
Motion Graphics & pre-viz at scale
Dirt Empire built a full realistic VR previsualization of the experience, allowing the team to see the stories at scale and assess the visual conditions of the venue before arriving on site. This empowered our partners on both the policy and production sides to make clear decisions about messaging, pacing, and room layout from the very outset of the project.
Exhibition Photo of " Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Gates and Unrealized Projects for New York City", The Shed, 2025
The Outcome
The event drew 300 attendees — lawmakers, farmers, conservation and agricultural academics, and industry professionals. It marked a significant first for Dirt Empire: bringing immersive filmmaking to the nation's capital in direct service of a cause worth celebrating.
Credits
March 18th, 2026
Installation by Dirt Empire
Creative Director
Lee Hirsch
Installation Designer
Nicholas Rubin
Lead Producer
Clementine Seely
Art Director and Senior Motion Designer
Maxx Berkowitz
Story Editor (Anthem)
Mitch Martin
Story Editor (Portraits)
Alistair Griffin
3D Artists
Gregory Guy
3D Artist
Illia Kulishko
3D Artist
Adam Zen
Projection by Quince Imaging
Technical Director
Colin Shock
Producers
Jay Hutchison & David Price
@2023 Dirt Empire