Politics of Weeds

Politics of Weeds is an experiential exhibition that sparks conversations and shares ways of knowing that center community and cultural relationships with plants that question the politics of the weeds. Artists and scholars Bo Zheng (City University of Hong Kong) and Diane Willow (University of Minnesota) are collaborating with Cante Suta-Francis Bettelyoun, Sayge Carroll, Reb L Limerick, Lisa Philander, Koua Yang, and Marcus Young to present this month-long experiential exhibition. Conceived as a participatory, social catalyst, the exhibition presents the work of SEACHINA (Socially Engaged Art in Contemporary China), the emergence of a Weed Party collective in Minneapolis/St Paul, and the cultivation of a series of participatory and interdisciplinary collaborations, conversations, teas, actions, performances, readings, and future imaginings. Guided by questions, debates, and embodied knowledge, Politics of Weeds becomes a creative catalyst to explore: how we work with plants to transform politics; how we propagate cultures of resistance, resilience, and re-imagination; and how we form and transform our relationships with plants. 

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website