Greenhouse: Art, Ecology and Resistance

(Hardback)

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A reflection on the relationship between nature, ecology and politics in the catalogue of the Portuguese Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia

The publication Greenhouse interweaves texts from artists, curators, as well as theoreticians concerning themes of ecology, identity, history and diaspora in relation to contemporary artistic practices. Created by artist-curators Mnica de Miranda, Snia Vaz Borges and Vnia Gala, and comissioned by DGArtes (General Directorate of the Arts) in Portugal, it reflects on and manifests the vision of Greenhouse, the official Portuguese representation at the 60th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia.

Looking at the land as a vector of decolonial thinking and practice, as inspired by the agronomist and leader of the liberation struggle in Guin-Bissau and Cabo Verde, Amlcar Cabral, the publication brings together historical narratives of liberation. It looks at contemporary decolonial practices, and imaginings of possible futures in the context of the Anthropocene and continued struggles against structural racism and for historical reparations.

The texts are interwoven with images from the exhibition that proposes a collective action through the creation of a "Creole garden" inside the exhibition space, which combines sculpture, stage, installation and assembly spaces, to open an area of resistance and freedom for multiple subjectivities. "Creole gardens" blend a wide range of plant species. They are instances of resistance, exercises in freedom.

Situated at the intersection between practice, theory and pedagogy, Greenhouse is grounded in four actions: Garden (Installation, Space and Time), LIVING ARCHIVE (Movement, Sound and Performance), Schools (Education, History and Revolution), Assemblies (Public and Communities).

Author Bio

Mnica de Miranda is a Portuguese-Angolan visual artist, researcher, filmmaker, curator and artistic director of Hangar - Centre of Artistic Research (Lisbon) whose interdisciplinary and research-based practice critically looks at the convergence of politics, gender, memory, space and history.

Snia Vaz Borges is a militant interdisciplinary historian and social-political organizer, currently Assistant Professor of History and Africana Studies at Drexel University (Philadelphia, USA).

Vnia Gala is a Portuguese choreographer and researcher.