Well, this is cool as heck. As part of the (truly wondrously incredible, please go see it if you can!!) Ruth Asawa Retrospective, SFMoMA teamed up with Garden for the Environment to do pop ups on a patio adjacent to the gallery, to complement Ruth’s dedication to her own garden and the powerful role of nature in her work and life.
The project was almost totally open-ended, with a few key limitations given its location: no soil, seeds, compost, worms, plant matter, or any of the messy things generally used in garden education. How might we facilitate folks to engage with plants, and urban nature, in a new (and non-dirty) way? What are some of the core lessons we wanted to share, with a fun, accessible way to get those across?
Together with GFE executive director Maggie Marks and my garden mentor (and good friend) Carey Craddock, we went heads-down on creating a zine as the foundation of our SFMoMA programming — a takeaway that would offer visitors an introduction to GFE and gardening (in general, and in SF) through a creative lens.
Habitat Horticulture set up a fantastic raised bed with plants that Ruth and her husband Albert Lanier grew, so we included drawing and writing prompts to encourage visitors to sit and observe, as well as think about opportunities to use their own diverse passions and talents to connect with others in communities that matter to them.
When we’re out on the patio, everyone who visits the exhibition is welcome to pop by our pop up and enjoy the fresh air!
