Installation view, We Place Life at the Center, on view at the Vincent Price Art Museum, Los Angeles, September 28- March 1, 2024. Photo by Paul Salveson.Artwork pictured: Azita Banu and Carolina Caycedo. Life at the Center, 2024. Wood, seed, flowers, tissue paper, black tea, and coffee dye, wheat paste. Commissioned by the Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College. Courtesy of the artists.
Saturday, November 16, 2024, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Join us for a free interactive seed workshop with artist and seed educator Azita Banu. Participants will discover the ethnobotanical history of seed libraries and the basics of seed-saving. This hands-on workshop will explore the hundreds of seeds included in the installation Life at the Center (2024), highlighting seasonal and native plants from the Chumash and Tongva territories. Attendees will learn how to save and clean seeds and create seed envelopes to take home for their own gardens. Open to all ages, this program offers an opportunity to better understand our role within our local ecosystems. Materials will be provided for registered participants. To RSVP, click here.
Organized by the Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College as part of PST ART: Art & Science Collide.
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
Azita Banu is an urban farmer-activist and seed doula located in Los Angeles. She is passionate about raising awareness around ecological conservation and regenerative solutions through home landscaping and guerilla gardening. She currently teaches students and families from kindergarten to college. You can join her at the Westchester Holy Nativity Community Pantry Garden on Thursdays from 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM for volunteer harvest hours.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
We Place Life at the Center / Situamos la vida en el centro is an exhibition, publication, and educational platform that directs dialogue and points of exchange among art, science, and environmental justice in the Americas. The project stems from the work of Los Angeles-based Colombian artist Carolina Caycedo, whose art and research engage with the interrelated issues of water and land stewardship, food sovereignty, and fair and just energy transition.
We Place Life at the Center / Situamos la vida en el centro is organized by the Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College. The exhibition is curated by Joseph Daniel Valencia with the assistance of Nadia Estrada and Gloria Ortega.
We Place Life at the Center / Situamos la vida en el centro is among more than 70 exhibitions and programs presented as part of PST ART. Returning in September 2024 with its latest edition, PST ART: Art & Science Collide, this landmark regional event explores the intersections of art and science, both past and present. PST ART is presented by Getty. For more information about PST ART: Art & Science Collide, please visit pst.art
We Place Life at the Center / Situamos la vida en el centro participated in the PST ART Climate Impact Program, a groundbreaking integration of climate action, community building, and data reporting as part of Getty’s landmark recurring arts event. The Vincent Price Art Museum tracked carbon emissions from exhibition travel and artwork shipping and developed programs to build community around climate action. Examples of specific climate initiatives integrated into the project include an ecological balancing program aimed at providing unrestricted funding to support the work of Indigenous and environmental justice organizations within our region. Information about the PST ART Climate Impact Program can be found at pst.art/climate
Additional support for this project is provided through a grant from the Mellon Foundation.
All exhibitions and programs at the Vincent Price Art Museum are underwritten by the Vincent Price Art Museum Foundation and East Los Angeles College.