Botanical Entanglements: an ecological art exhibition, Mar 12-18, 2022

Thursday, March 17, 2022

Experience a unique art exhibition in the UC Botanical Garden's historic Julia Morgan Hall on view for one week only!

Botanical Entanglements is a site-specific ecological art exhibition that explores embedded histories in plant form. With this work, artist and ecologist Dr. Juniper Harrower is interested in the ethnobotanical histories and localized ecologies of specific plants at the botanical garden and in her Berkeley neighborhood. She asks, how have colonialism and development fractured these human-plant relationships? What are the roles that plants play in constructing our identities and how do we in turn influence their ways of living?

A closing ceremony on Friday, March 18th will include an introduction by Dr. Benjamin Blonder, an artist talk by Harrower, as well as a featured concert performance of South Side Symphony, presenting the world premiere of a cello concerto composed by internationally-recognized composer Marcus Norris. Click here for more information and tickets.

This exhibition is part of a collaborative project with UC Berkeley faculty Dr. Benjamin Blonder’s plant ecology labs on biological resilience and resistance, and is supported by the National Science Foundation.

Bio:
Specializing in multispecies entanglements under climate change, Dr. Juniper Harrower works at the intersection of ecology and art. She uses rigorous science methods and a multimedia art practice to consider the ways that humans influence ecosystems while seeking solutions that protect at-risk species and promote environmental justice. A founding member of the international arts collective The Algae Society Bioart Design Lab, she also founded and directs the environmental arts production company SymbioArtlab which contracts with national parks, universities, and the private sector. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and her research and artistic products have received wide exposure in popular media such as National Geographic, the associated press, podcasts, music festivals and conferences. Harrower is the director of the art+science initiative at UC Santa Cruz where she also teaches art.
https://www.juniperharrower.com/