Seeding The City

Seeding the City is a site-specific, participatory project that explores the value placed on food and artistic social practice through interactions with visitors.

Developed for Pulse Miami during Art Basel 2012 in association with Mixed Greens gallery and with support from the Stevens Prize, the project was also exhibited at Franklin Street Works as part of the Strange Invitation: Digging Deeper exhibition.

—-

Referencing and rethinking the fable “The Cock and the Jewel”, the furniture farms installed at the fair introduced visitors to the value of household agriculture. In the story, a cockerel finds a precious gem, but rejects it, choosing to value food and family over material wealth. Each object houses a hidden jewel and references to the fable through books and other household objects.

Created and crowdfunded by art fair visitors, a collaborative map drawing raised money for the Farm@Verde Gardens. This non-profit 22-acre organic permaculture farm and residence just south of Miami helps formerly homeless families gain experience growing food for the community. Verde Gardens is the first program of its kind in the country.

Visitors were encouraged to collaborate in three steps.

Seed: Place a small donation into the slot in the desk to help support the farm and community at local Verde Gardens.

Sign: Using one of the pens provided, add your signature anywhere within the boundaries of the Miami map.

Share: Encourage others to collaborate. Take a button, take a photo, tag your posts with #seedingthecity and share widely.

Pulse Miami
The Ice Palace
1400 North Miami Avenue
Miami, FL 33136
( Media and Entertainment District )

Selected Press

“From Invader Tiles to Living Room Installations: Highlights From PULSE Miami 2012“, Ben Davis, Benjamin Sutton, December 5, 2012, ArtInfo.com

“PULSE Art Fair: The Director Tour,” Carmen Zella, December 6, 20122, Huffington Post