Resistance Garden Quilt
[Ongoing]
The Resistance Garden Quilt is a collaborative project that aims to 1) highlight edible and/or native plants that grow well in Houston, according to immigrant & BIPOC community members’ experiences, 2) share ways to make art using recycled materials, culminating in the creation of a communal sampler quilt, 3) and share resources for climate resilience & environment care.
Quilt pieces will be created by participants during workshops that focus on variations on the project themes, and the pieces will be combined by the artist into a larger quilt in phases. For each activation, collaborators contribute “field notes” about featured plants and other resources and pathways for climate action. These will be shared via Resistance Garden Field Notes zines, which are available online and will be distributed at the workshops. The quilt is meant to be an index of the learning and community building process that will occur over the course of the project.
Activations:
(upcoming) April 21, 2024: for the Spring Festival @ Museum of Fine Arts Houston. Collaborator: Elaine Kuo. Will highlight sweet potato greens and reports on problems with plastic production and recycling. Will create plastic collages w/ tape, plarn, and sashiko quilting.
February 10, 2024: for the Lunar New Year Festival @ Asia Society Texas Center. Collaborator: Dr. Kathleen Funk. Highlighted winter plants - daikon, Japanese hawkweed (for edible foraging), mustard greens, turmeric, and traditional Chinese medicine knowledge. Created lunar new year door banners & tiles decorated with cutouts using plastic, fabric, and glue.
September 2023 - April 2024: for “Climate Migrations” by Houston Climate Justice Museum @ POST Houston. Responses to project prompt via writing and drawings on fabric. What grew well in your garden this year? How do you connect with nature through the realities of climate change?
See Resistance Garden zines online as they are released. Hard copies (8.5x11 inches bi-folded) are available upon request.