SWAP at EcoZoic Era: plant|seed|soil

SeedBroadcast is honored to be included in the exhibition The Ecozoic Era: plant|seed|soil from April 29 – August 5, 2016 where we are presenting the project SWAP, a hands-on Seed Story germination grow-kit. SWAP, along with the rest of the exhibition, is located inside the New Mexico State Capital Roundhouse in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This is the perfect site to declare seeds as open-source, non-proprietary bodies and beings who participate in the social and environmental well-being of everyone in our communities. It is also the perfect site for individuals to declare through action, their right to save and share seeds and disrupt the corporate domination of seed, food, agri-Culture, and politics of the few over the many.

SWAP is a pop-up, Seed Story grow-kit where visitors can participate in connecting with seeds and honoring their stories through drawing, reading, conversation, and of course swapping seeds. One can also sit down and listen to Seed Stories on headphones. SeedBroadcast is actively using this space as an ongoing recording studio through the rest of the exhibition to record Seed Stories from all participating artists and local residents.

We are encouraging local folks in Santa Fe to bring open-pollinated seeds to SWAP and pick up seeds to take home and grow. Seeds can be dropped off at SWAP, deposited in one of the many envelopes and jars, and labeled with the seed name. You might even want to add a little Seed Story into the jar so your seeds will have relations to share with whoever takes them home. When picking up seed, take only what you can use and be sure to leave plenty for others. There are empty packets to transfer your seed into.

The table and bulletin board are set up for drawing Seed Stories and posting these along with community Seed information on the tack board. SeedBroadcast agri-Culture Journals are also available for your seedy reading pleasure.

So far thousands of seeds have made their way into the Roundhouse and New Mexico’s political center to take a seat and wield their perfect power of nourishment, wisdom, and generosity. As many will agree, these characteristics are really the roots of radical action today. Seeds are our guides, teaching us how to save seeds, grow food, support healthy community, and share this wealth with others.

Thanks go out to all the seed keepers who brought seeds to share for the opening reception and who continue to bring seeds to be included in SWAP for the duration of the exhibition. We hope this project will encourage Santa Fe to organize a year round seed swap, seed library, or whatever might yet be imagined to share seed.

Here are some Seed Stories recorded at SWAP... with more to come!

Bobbe Besold shares her Seed Story at the Ecozoic Era: plant|seed|soil art exhibition
https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/bobbe-shares-her-seed-story-at-the-ecozoic-era-plantseedsoil-art-exhibition


Marion Wasserman tells a Seed Story about life long relationships with seed
https://soundcloud.com/seedbroadcast/marion-wasserman-tells-a-seed-story-about-life-long-relationships-with-seed

Exhibition detail

We would also like to honor the incredible work in the exhibition encompassing both human and the more-than-human love of land, plant, seed, soil, compost, and more. Here is a list of all the artists involved. And as many of these artists point out on their wall labels, there are many more project partners who made all this work possible, both human and other.

Margaret Bagshaw
Bobbe Besold
Matthew Chase-Daniel
Helen Hardin
Jeanette Hart-Mann
Basia Irland
Courtney M Leonard
Jade Leyva
Amy Lin
Sarah Molina
Sabra Moore
Larry Ogan
Ruben Olguin
Chrissie Orr
Halley Roberts
Ahní Rocheleau
Gabriela Silva
Penny Spring
Nancy Sutor
Rulan Tangen
Pablita Velarde
Marion Wasserman
Jerry Wellman
Rick Yoshimoto

Bobbe Besold is not only an artist in the show, she is also the curator and organizer. The exhibition’s title The Ecozoic Era: plant|seed|soil is informed by the following statement:

“Ecozoic: “eco-“ is derived from the Greek work “oikos” meaning house, household, or home, and “-zoic” from the Greek word “zoikos” meaning pertaining to living beings. The House of Livings Beings. We are all, all of us, living in the same house.”

“This biological term was created by the philosopher, geologian, Earth scholar, Thomas Berry.”

Bobbe Besold, Seed Blocks: for building or for gambling

Jade Leyva, Maíz Azúl

Exhibition detail

Penny Spring, Seeds, Stems, Roots and Shoots, fabric collage

Gabriela Silva, Growing Paper
New Mexico True Blue Corn
New Mexico True Pink Corn
New Mexico Black Beans
New Mexico Pinto Beans
New Mexico Snow Peas
The Three Sisters
handmade paper and seeds

Exhibition detail

Sabra Moore, H/EAR//HER/E

The Ecozoic Era: plant|seed|soil exhibition was sponsored by El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe, The NM Capital Art Foundation, the McCune Foundation and dRoberts Realty.

2016 Bees and Seeds Festival

SeedBroacast and the Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station will be at the Bees + Seeds Festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico!

Come join us and celebrate local seeds, gardens, farmers, food, and healthy community.

Bring SEEDS to swap and bring a Seed Story to record!

May 28th, 2016
3pm - 9pm

Location
Tractor Brewing
1800 4th ST NW
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Presented and Sponsored by: GMO-Free New Mexico

11th Annual Dandelion Festival, Durango, Colorado.

We left really early with the light of dawn just appearing on the horizon. The air was cold and the sky indicated we were in for unpredictable weather. It was a slow journey to the north, the seed truck taking its time to meander up and over the New Mexico state line into Colorado and on to Durango. We were invited to be part of the 11th Annual Dandelion Festival, which is held at the time of the dandelions to celebrate the power of this plant, organic parks, local food and spring.

Rotary Park, site of the Dandelion Festival.

The festival is coordinated by the Turtle Lake Refuge , the mission of which is to celebrate the connection between personal health and wild lands. Turtle Lake was founded in 1998 by Katrina Blair who teaches sustainable living practices, permaculture and wild edible and medicinal plant classes locally and internationally. She is the author of a book titled “Local Wild Life- Turtle Lake Refuge’s Recipes for Living Deep”, that focuses on the uses and recipes of the local wild abundance.

The Festival was held in the Rotary Park which is surrounded by grassy areas filled with huge bright yellow dandelions that attracted people to sit and make necklaces and headbands to wear in honor of this special plant.
The dandelion derives its name from the French term ‘dent de lion’ meaning ‘tooth of the lion’. And if you look carefully at the petals of this pant you can see the connection. Though the dandelion has been carried from place to place since before written history, it can at least be said that the plant is native to Europe and Asia. The earliest recordings can be found in Roman times and use has been noted by the Anglo Saxon tribes of Britain and the Normans of France. In the tenth and eleventh centuries there is mention of dandelions being used for medicinal purposes in the works of Arabian physicians. As people migrated they took these plants and seed with them to grow them in their new homeland. Dandelions were an important element of their culture and well-being as they were essential medicine, food and wine.  Now the dandelion is known as a weed as it is hard to contain, they have a long tap root and are resilient. They produce hundreds of seeds that are distributed by the wind and can be carried hundreds of miles.

The festival  highlights the benefits of the dandelion and seeks to reestablish its medicinal place in our contemporary culture and to dispel the “weed” myth. All parts of the plant can be eaten and are often found in salads, roasted, fried,  or made into wine, tea, or a coffee-like drink. Dandelions have a taste similar to chicory or endive with a bitter tinge. Studies have shown that the plant can produce antibodies to cancer and can buffer blood glucose levels for diabetics and there are many other health benefits.

Turtle Lake Booth

At the Turtle Lake booth one could learn many ways to incorporate this plant into your diet from dandelion quiche, dandelion pesto, tea and a dandelion lemonade. The Dirty Hands Collective, a radical activist group provided free food, in the style of Food not Bombs, hearty dark rye bread with salad and pasta smothered in dandelion pesto. While eating you could browse the numerous hand- made anarchist Zines arranged at their booth.

Dirty Hands  Collective Zines

 Even though the weather was constantly changing from snow to sun many people came out to share  music, dancing, bartering and in general celebration. There were people bartering their newly sprouted seeds, a thrift shop exchange to raise money for the next festival, a healing tent for those who needed that massage or acupuncture treatment. and of course SeedBroadcast sharing seeds and stories.
Towards to end of the day as the sun began to sink in the cloudy sky a May Pole was carefully erected and Katrina guided us in the ins and outs of the traditional May Pole dance.

May Pole Dance

 It started well, the weaving of people under and over but at one point chaos emerged and the pole and people were entangled in a web of multicolored strands. Everyone was laughing and dancing and taking care of each other.

Katrina exclaimed the end of the dance “sometimes love can get messy!"

The festival was one of love not only for each other but for this wonderful medicinal plant we call the dandelion so please try not to pull it from your fields and gardens,  try not to think of it as messy, take care of it, respect its healing properties, go out and find some and taste that dark green leaf, make some tea, or put it in your salad, you will not be disappointed!

 The following seed stories were shared with us:
Rachel Bennett
Krista Atencio

Seed Swap at Ecozoic Era: Friday May 6th

SeedBroadcast SWAP

Ecozoic Era: Plant| Seed|Soil| opens at the New Mexico State Capital

 Friday May 6th from 4pm to 6pm.

Curated by Bobbe Besold with artists:

Margaret Bagshaw, Bobbe Besold, Matthew Chase-Daniel, Helen Hardin, Jeanette Hart-Mann, Basia Irland, Courtney M Leonard, Jade Leyba, Amy Lin, Sarah Molina, Sabra Moore, Larry Ogan, Ruben Olguin, Chrissie Orr, Hayley Roberts, Ahni Rocheleau, SeedBroadcast, Gabriela Silva, Penny Spring, Nancy Sutor, Rulan Tangen, Pablita Velarde, Marion Wasserman, Jerry Wellman, Rick Yoshimoto

Come on by and bring seeds and stories to SWAP.  Join in the radical seed action in the heart of the State Capital to keep our traditional land race seeds free and in the hands of the people that believe in their true spirit.   The Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station will be there and we can record and share that precious seed story.....  Seeds and Stories keep that culture in agi -Culture!

SeedBroadcasting at the Dandelion Festival in Durango, Colorado

Join SeedBroadcast and the Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station at the Dandelion Festival and come celebrate spring with the wild seeds and wild foods.

Saturday, May 7th, 2016 from 1-9pm

Rotary Park

Durango, Colorado

Contact Turtle Lake Refuge for more information: http://www.turtlelakerefuge.org/

970-247-8395