Location
Explore, document, and discuss the variety of plants growing in abandoned urban landscapes with artist Jill Sebastian during a special Weeds Walk in downtown Madison.
In conjunction with her exhibition, Eat My Words, Sebastian will lead participants on a tour of nearby urban sites to find plant species growing from the rubble. After the walk, Sebastian will guide an exploration of how in confrontation with the city, an unromanticized nature moves in to clean up man's mess. The conversation will expand on the intertwined environmental and social questions introduced by her artwork.
Sebastian’s investigations encompass Aldo Leopold’s legacy which calls us to enlarge “the boundaries of community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land.”
Weeds point to the potential of land. Disturbed landscapes, abandoned gardens, patches of neglected city lots literally fall between the cracks. Rather than a blight, one can see them as persistent wilderness attempting to reestablish itself while steeply challenged by soil toxins, invading opportunistic alien species, and the limey heat sinks of concrete.
This program will start and end at the James Watrous Gallery and include a short walk within a two-block radius. Please dress for the weather. No supplies are needed, however you are invited to bring a camera and/or sketchbook, and garden gloves if you own them.
Advance registration is required. This event is free, and your give-what-you-can donation helps the gallery to continue to support artists and sponsor events. If you are in a position to give, we suggest a $5 to $15 donation.
SPONSOR THE SERIES
If you'd like to support this series financially, please contact Executive Director, Erika Monroe-Kane.
The Boldt Family Fund, Inc.
Angela Trudell Vasquez, Madison Poet Laureate 2020-2024
