Weedy Nomad is a movement-based storytelling project that explores neighborhoods in transition through plant-body encounters. We invite activists, artists and publics to share their experiences of development and gentrification through guided walks and movement scores that look particularly at marginalized urban ecosystems and spontaneous plants (aka weeds) found in “vacant lots,” sidewalk cracks, treepits, and highway medians. In looking at these under-recognized lifeforms, we are able to move in new ways, understand shifting ecologies, and highlight indigenous and underrecognized histories and stories.
Kimberly saunters into the Windmill Community Garden with ease. Her white and geometric print outfit is fitting for today’s journey. We sit together in a shady spot admiring Kristyna & Marek Milde’s Plantarium Tea Garden, a platform serving the local community to grow and harvest wild herbs for teas and infusions. I give Kimberly a quick overview of our planned journey, making allowances for wandering and some movement exercises. As a dancer, educator and architect […]
We meet Marissa on a steamy May afternoon at Flux Factory. Artist-in-resident PlayPlay’s installation, Resilience: A Sonic Tribute to the Queer History of Club Music, was just set up, pumping in a continuous mix of queer electronic club music, from early disco to house to current underground hits. After a brief greeting, we cross the street into the Windmill Community Garden to begin our walk. Thomas orients our gaze to buildings across the street, as […]
I meet Erica on a very hot spring afternoon in Long Island City. We meet at the Windmill Community Garden and I’m already sweating bullets. We both lament the heat, and decide to pop into Flux Factory to use the facilities, and secretly for a little relief from the sun. I share a cold seltzer with her as we reminisce and talk about our impending journey. On our way out, we meet Nate, the Executive […]
