Plants and humans share habitats and (hi)stories in many different ways. The community of human and plant life seems casual in its everydayness, but is not at all self-evident – the presence of plants and human relationships with them are shaped historically, socially, economically, scientifically, and personally.
Together with artists, activists, researchers, and guests, the event series PLANT STORIES asks: Which narratives and ambivalences shape human perspectives of the plant world? Which projections form part of the fascination for flowers, trees, herbs, or indoor palms? What do plant stories reveal about the people telling them? Why are the relationships between humans and plants political? And how could they be different?
The ways in which humans make sense of and deal with vegetation changes e.g. through colonialism, extractive economies, knowledge systems, and aesthetic trends, but also through migration histories, medical practices, everyday life, care, and affection. From June to October, many different artistic approaches and perspectives will come together at ZK/U to exchange and experience stories about and with plants, to remember and speculate, and to explore the emancipatory potential of different plant stories for living together across species.
With contributions by Anguezomo Nzé Mba Bikoro w/ Abeni Asante & Nane Kahle, Bethan Hughes, Bilge Emine Arslan, Dunjiva Kollektiv, Ece Eldek & Andrea Acosta, Fetewei Tarekegn, Gilly Karjevsky, Giovanni Aloi, Interspecifics, Minh Duc Pham, Odd Sonorous, Sina Ribak, Tang Han, T. Rudzinskaitė Memorial Amateur Lichenologists Society, Umut Azad Akkel, Vanessa Amoah Opoku u.a.
The program goes from July through October and will be adjourned continuously. To learn more about artists, dates, and formats, visit the website.
Concept & artistic direction: Andrea Goetzke & Lina Brion, production: Eliza Chojnacka, graphic design: BANK™. In collaboration with Zentrum für Kunst und Urbanistik, ZK/U, Berlin
The realisation of the project is made possible with funding from Hauptstadtkulturfonds.
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Image: Transformation Dinner. Photo credit: Hanif Shoaei
