Weed and Seed Walk with Next Epoch Seed Library

Join Interference Archive and the Next Epoch Seed Library for a weed and seed walk in Gowanus. We’ll identify and interact with the weedy, urban-adapted plant species that have made a home in the cracks and fissures of this rapidly changing industrial landscape. Along the way we’ll collect and re-distribute the seeds of evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), a medicinal, pollinator-friendly species whose insect companions benefit from gene flow between isolated primrose populations. As we interact with these urban-adapted species we’ll consider the connections between climate justice and human-plant reciprocity.

Following the walk, we’ll return to the archive and consider intersections between the Gowanus Seed and Weed Walk and our current exhibition, Like the Waters We Rise: Climate Justice in Print. We’ll have the opportunity to map our walk and discuss the legacy of urban environmentalism, reclaimed industrial landscapes, and the community gardens movement.

The Next Epoch Seed Library (NESL) is an artist-run seed saving project focused on novel, spontaneous, and adaptable plants. Founded in January 2015 by artists Ellie Irons and Anne Percoco the project involves multiple collaborators and focuses on collecting, storing and sharing seeds from plants that tend to live in close association with dense human populations or in areas heavily impacted by human activity. Through presentations, workshops, seed-swaps and exhibitions, NESL encourages viewers and participants to engage with their local habitat and reflect on their own role in the adaptation and success of these plants. Ellie Irons is a interdisciplinary artist and educator with a focus on urban ecology, based in Troy and Brooklyn, NY. She is currently working on her PhD in arts practice at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Anne Percoco, based in Jersey City, NJ, is an environmental artist producing public artworks, gallery shows, web projects, and publications.