Botany of Empire: Stitching Stories of Plants, Power, and Resistance

Join visual artist Alaya Ang and scholar Banu Subramaniam to delve into the intersections of botany, empire and art.

Banu will present ideas from her book Botany of Empire, exploring the labyrinthine history of how colonialism transformed rich and complex plant worlds into biological knowledge.

Alaya will lead us in stitching together a tapestry that will interweave our personal reflections on growing, imaginative plant names, plant journeys and remedies to reimagine how we relate to plants, land, and knowledge.

Join a hands-on, meditative and reflective workshop. You do not need any prior plant knowledge or growing experience to attend, all are welcome.

This is the first of a series of events exploring the idea of seed commoning, as part of a research project being conducted by Joss Allen with Glasgow Seed Library.

Workshop schedule

This four hour workshop will have two parts with space for rest and refreshments.

2.00 - 3.30pm – Part 1: Presentation by Banu and exercise led by Alaya
3.30 - 4.30pm – Refreshments prepared by Rumpus Room, including food grown from the garden
4.30 - 6pm – Part 2: Collective sewing, study and discussion led by Alaya in conversation with Banu

About the contributors

Alaya Ang is a multidisciplinary artist, their practice is interested in ecological histories and water cosmologies and the tracing of matrilineal and genderqueer narratives. They use sculpture, sound, performance and participatory practice to investigate notions of community, informed by cross-cultural ties as well as transnational movements.

Banu Subramaniam is an interdisciplinary scholar, trained as an evolutionary biologist and plant scientist, and since embraced tools from the humanities and social sciences to help shape the field of Feminist Science and Technology Studies. Her recent research rethinks the field and practice of botany in relation to histories of colonialism and xenophobia and explores the wide travels of scientific theories, ideas, and concepts as they relate to migration and invasive species. She is currently Luella LaMer Professor of Women's and Gender Studies at Wellesley College, Massachusetts.

Joss Allen can be found in the garden, amongst the weeds and compost heaps. He is an artworker and researcher interested in how art influences ecological ways of being and practices of tending within more-than-human worlds. Their work has been influenced by their time as a support worker for adults with autism, a labourer on an organic farm and a refuse collector, among others.

The workshop is funded by The Royal Society of Edinburgh and The Williamson Trust, through a Healthy Planet, Healthy People award.

Accessibility

The indoor studio where we will mainly be working is not wheelchair accessible. However, options are available to support participation if your mobility is restricted. We are happy to cover transport and childcare costs for any participant to attend. Please email joss.allen@warwick.ac.uk to make an access request and to let us know of any food allergies.