guest sessions

GUEST SESSION #2 - Re-imagining Urban Identity with Plants

Sunday 17 August 15-17h

We begin this workshop with an introduction to the Lianjiang Herbalist, a 2021 project in Qingyuan Canton, China where 107 identified plants tell the story of community resilience and belonging in an urban landscape. Next, we will go on a group foraging walk around the St. Marx area to identify the local plant species around us. This collective exercise will bring a fresh new awareness on our relationship with plants and what urban identity means.

Aki Lee is a Vienna-based Chinese artist working at the intersection of art and society. Developing urban regeneration projects since 2014, she explores power dynamics, food, and everyday acts of care as essential components of relational ecologies.Oi Pui Hoang, trained in molecular biology and studying Chinese medicine, is passionate about connecting body, mind and nature, and integrating scientific and holistic knowledge systems.

GUEST SESSION #3 - Roots of Wisdom: Ancestral Herbs

Saturday 30 August 15-17h

We invite you to a sensory journey into the living pharmacy of the Colombian Amazon. The objective of this workshop is to educate, preserve ancestral wisdom, and promote the aware and responsible use of plants.  We begin with an introduction to the Healing Jungle, plants that heal and purify, followed by  "The Women's Apothecary" and finally to the ethics and sustainability of endangered plants.

Cristian Mesa is a Colombian born and raised medicine man, who specializes in ethnobotanical and traditional medicine practices from native and Indigenous people in the Amazon rainforest.

past events

GUEST SESSION #1 - Mai Ling Reads: Botany of Empire: Plant Worlds and the Scientific Legacies of Colonialism

Saturday 19 July 15-17h

Mai Ling Reads is an informal monthly reading group, featuring intersectional feminist thinking in a casual, cozy setting. Each time, we have a selected text to learn and unlearn the way of knowing and sharing. This month, our reading session will take place within the framework of Florestania im Dritten and their projects. Together, we'll explore new connections by discussing texts and practices from both Mai Ling Reads and Florestania im Dritten. Prior reading or knowledge is not required! If you don’t have a book, send an email to Mai Ling (mai.ling@gmx.at). We will provide you with the pdf of the book.

project kick-off

Our project officially launched on 15 June! We hosted a participatory performance by multidisciplinary artist Karin Cheng, who led us through a series of somatic exercises inspired by the four seasons of nature. We also unveiled our very first plastic prototype of the Moringa Tree. Participants received our Florestania tote bags to collect their plastic waste for upcoming workshops with Fantoplast and Precious Plastic Vienna. A huge thank you to our partners and everyone who attended! 

Unser Projekt wurde offiziell am 15. Juni gestartet! Wir veranstalteten eine partizipative Performance der multidisziplinären Künstlerin Karin Cheng, die uns durch eine Reihe somatischer Übungen führte – inspiriert von den vier Jahreszeiten der Natur. Außerdem enthüllten wir unseren allerersten Plastikprototypen des Moringa-Baums. Die Teilnehmenden erhielten außerdem unsere Florestania-Stofftaschen, um darin ihren Plastikmüll für kommende Workshops mit Fantoplast und Precious Plastic Vienna zu sammeln. Ein riesiges Dankeschön an unsere Partner*innen und alle, die dabei waren!