2015
Andere Gärten (Other Gardens)
Galerie im Körnerpark, Neukölln, Berlin
18 July to 11 October 2015
Opening reception: Friday, 17 Juli 2015, 6pm
Artists: Barbara Eitel, Jörg Finus, Juliane Laitzsch, Laetitia Norkeit, Farkhondeh Shahroudi, Nele Ströbel, Urban Plant Research (Leslie Kuo, Sara Bouchard). Curated by Dorothee Bienert.
This exhibition will be held in the Galerie im Körnerpark, a former orangerie or winter garden within a neo-baroque park and historic monument. The exhibition approaches the topic of the garden from different directions. This includes, on the one hand, the vision of the garden as relaxed places of leisure, in the tradition of the hortus conclusus, and urban gardening as an anarchistic reclaiming of urban space and a social utopia. On the other hand, the exhibition also critically examines the topic of escapism and questions the illusion or staging of such places of refuge in the context of the “use” of nature.
More info about the exhibition — including some great participatory events and summer concerts at the gallery and park.
Galerie im Körnerpark, Schierker Str. 8, 12051 Berlin
Photo of the gallery by Jörg Kantel (creative commons license – thank you!)
Artist book: A Lichtenberg Herbarium
2014
Artist Residency at Lichtenberg Studios
From May 19 to May 25, 2014, Sara and Leslie lived and worked in east Berlin as guest artists at Lichtenberg Studios. Here’s a video diary of our urban nature walks.
Look, Listen, Talk with Urban Plant Research
Friday, May 23 at 7 pm, Lichtenberg Studios, Berlin
A lively discussion about urban plant life, with a multimedia slideshow of sounds and images. Six years into the Urban Plant Research project, we took a look back at the many city plants in Berlin, New York, and beyond that we have documented around the world with the help of contributing artists. How do we humans get along with plants in our city neighborhoods, from weeds to street trees? What can we learn from them? Neighbors and friends from Lichtenberg and Berlin joined us for an evening of seeing, hearing, tasting and considering city plant life in new ways, followed by the monthly Lichtenberg Studios dance party with DJs Schneegstöber and Dorfdisco at the turntables. > Info in German
2013
Needle Bed
Solo project by Sara using urban plants
Open Source Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
“Using Open Source Gallery and its environs as a work space and source of materials, I collected 12 discarded Christmas trees and transformed them into a floor cover through the labor-intensive process of trimming, breaking down and de-needling the trees by hand…” >> continue reading
2012
Urban Plant Research talk
October 14, 2012
Church of Monika, Open Source Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
We shared photos and plant observations, leading a community discussion about urban plants in New York as part of the neighborhood gallery’s ‘Church of Monika’ program. It provides an alternative place for neighbors to gather on Sunday mornings.
2010
Backyard slideshow & discussion
April 17, 2010
Umbrella Arts, New York, NY
We were invited by artist Debbie Hesse, who created an organic installation in the gallery using plants, to share our images and observations about urban plants. We staged an outdoor slideshow in the small brick courtyard.
2009
Urban Plant Research in Residence
August 15 – August 30, 2009
Open Source, Brooklyn
We installed a temporary community plant research center, inviting all to participate in exploring plants in the neighborhood and join us in discussing urban gardening, city trees, edible weeds and more. > More details
Events
While working in residence, we hosted visiting neighbors during regular open hours and many participatory events.
– August 15: Opening party
– August 16: Local herb tea on the stoop / Field trip to the Waterpod, a “floating green home”
– August 22: A Walk Around the Block, an urban nature walk led by Sara Bouchard, followed by mojitos made with mint harvested on the gallery’s block
– August 27: Visit to 6/15 Green, a nearby community garden
– August 28, 3-5pm: Activities for kids
– August 30: Acoustic Jam for the Plants, a jam session where different levels and genres of local musicians played together for neighbors and their house plants.
Index II
July 30 – August 29, 2009
Artspace, New Haven, CT
We exhibited a work-in-progress, a book juxtaposing Berlin and Brookyn plants.
2008
Glück Gehabt: Kunst im Untergrund (That was Lucky: Art in the Underground)
Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst
Bernauer Straße subway station, Berlin
1 Nov. 2008 – 30 May 2009
In three stations on Berlin’s U8 subway line, the New Society for Visual Art presented an art exhibition using the advertising spaces behind the subway tracks. We created the U8 Plant Quiz, featuring six plants that we spotted near stations on the U8 line. The quiz could be completed online to enter a drawing, in keeping with the exhibition’s theme “that was lucky.”
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