2022-2023 AnkhLave Curator in Residence

Curatorial Statement by Curator in Residence, Cecilia Andre:

Branching Out: Trees as Community Hosts:
 
Many species depend on and thrive under the canopy of a single tree. Within a tree resides an entire ecosystem of species that interact in mutualistic arrangements benefiting one another. nevertheless this same tree is  susceptible to parasites that may drain this system’s riches

Maintaining this protective interdependence is what will yield resources for continued human life on the planet. In the same way, the equilibrium of a protective social tissue leads to a healthy community. 

The AnkhLave Garden Project aims to amplify the voices of underrepresented communities that experiment with many possibilities of interactions within their “canopies”. This project will examine ideal protective canopies, or the lack of thereof, and its effects on the sustainability of trees and communities.

In 2022, we launched the Annual AnkhLave Curator in Residence Program, providing one AnkhLave Garden Fellowship alum, the opportunity to curate the Ankhlave Garden Project public exhibition at the Queens Botanical Garden. Cecilia Curated the show Amplify that year featuring five AnkhLave Garden Project Fellows. In 2023, she curated the Branching Out" Trees as Community Hosts at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which will be officially unveiled to the public, June 17th 2023 as part of the Power of Trees Presentation at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. See Cecilia's show statement below: