Julia is a graphic artist, multi-media maker, musician, and fourth generation farmer. An Auburn native with deep agricultural roots, Julia grew up on her family’s 100-year old pear farm, the Boorinakis Harper Ranch. She holds a BA in Technocultural Studies from UC Davis, where her focus was on the intersection of art, media, and technology.
As a graphic designer and multimedia producer, Julia has worked with regional agencies to support and grow the local food, farming, and sustainability movements. She collaborates internationally with artists, musicians, and nonprofits on projects ranging from filmmaking to publication design to audio production (and occasionally heads out to sing on tour with her husband, musician Anton Barbeau). But no matter where she travels, Auburn and the foothills are always home.
Julia is a member of the Board of Directors of the Arts Council of Placer County, the Auburn Arts Commission, and the Advisory Board of the Western Cave Conservancy.
“Growing up on our ranch in Auburn, I’ve watched so many farms, fields, and open spaces disappear as development has crept in around us. I remember realizing at a very early age that once you pave over a wild place, it isn’t coming back — the landscape is changed forever. Working with Placer Land Trust feels right to me on a soul level: Everything we do here is for the sake of the land, and for the communities — both wild and human — that depend on it for their wellbeing.”
