seeding the city

This Thursday I’m heading down to D.C. to participate in a panel discussion on sustainable cultural production. I will also be installing the first outside of NYC module – awesome!

A big thanks to Jeff Hnilicka, Transformer Gallery and Fathom Creative for making this all happen. Here’s a rundown of the weekend ahead:

• Thursday, June 3, 1 – 3:30pm: “InCUBATE Discusses ARBS (Artist Run Benefit Society)” – a conversation with Jeff Hnilicka and InCUBATE members Abigail Satinsky and Bryce Dwyer at Transformer Gallery
  6 – 8:30pm: FRAMEWORK Panel #13: BUILT TO LAST? truths & myths of sustainable cultural production at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. *see below
• Friday, June 4, 5 – 7pm: “Seeding the City” with Brooklyn-based artist Eve Mosher at Fathom Creative
• Saturday, June 5, 1 – 7pm: “A Day of Dischord,” featuring performances by Andalusians and The Aquarium

Framework Panel #13:
BUILT TO LAST? – truths & myths of sustainable cultural production
June 3, 2010, 6:30 – 8pm

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW
In the Choate Room on the 1st floor

Presented in tandem with Sustainability Lab & Cornfield, this panel will look back and look ahead at the ever-evolving Do-It-Yourself ethic and inherent aesthetics as it relates to cultural production. Timed with the 30th anniversary of Washington DC’s Dischord Records – an internationally recognized independent record label supporting punk rock music that has been artist run since its inception – this panel will examine the DIY organizing model that grew out of punk rock subculture and is tied to punk ideology and anti-consumerism. How is DIY being redefined as aspects of that culture shift from being an underground mantra to a cable TV station slogan and Urban Outfitters commodity? What can cultural producers learn from sustainable food producers? How can a volunteer-run operation be sustainable?

Panelists: Nancy Bannon, artist, DC & NYC; Bryce Dwyer, InCUBATE, Chicago; Ian MacKaye, co-founder of Dischord Records, DC; Eve Mosher, Seeding the City, NYC; Abigail Satinsky, InCUBATE, Chicago

Moderator: Jeff Hnilicka, cultural worker, Member of Hit Factorie and organizer of FEAST, Brooklyn

So I decided to try growing some herbs in the modules. I took two modules and planted oregano, thyme, tarragon and lavender in them – and they are loving it! It takes a bit of maintenance (the sedum don’t know), like watering when its been super hot. I’m planning to do a bunch of herb modules to offer to those who are interested! (I will post pics soon).

I am also putting together workshops for this summer for those who are interested! You bring your people and I’ll bring the knowledge and resources. Building your own green roof can be educational, fun, rewarding, collaborative and a little dirty! Contact me for more information!

Finally, I’m excited to be introducing the project in our first location outside of NYC – at Fathom Creative in Washington, D.C. I would love to introduce the projects in other locations, again – get in touch if you want to get it started!

With the beautiful weather that has descended upon NYC, we here at Seeding The City have been itching to get our fingers dirty. Over the weekend we planted some test modules with herbs (some that are good in sandy dry shallow soil – cuban oregano anyone?) and some that traditionally don’t do as well (rosemary?) — we are hopeful that at least some of these plants will thrive so that we can offer them over the fall.

Those of you who are on my general mailing list (if you aren’t already, sign up here: http://evemosher.com/gallery2/page/contact) know about the inventory loss that we suffered in February. Due to some mis-communication completely out of our control, half of our modules (they were awaiting spring installation) were thrown out. It is reported that the plants were replanted, so that is good – but it is a loss of a lot of materials, labor and the time that it took for them to get established. (The modules that we have still have mostly done really well – the sedum spreading and the grasses growing anew).

So… we are starting a fundraising campaign. We’ll be launching a campaign (complete with donor gifts) in a couple of weeks. This fundraiser will allow us to collect money to both continue the original network of green roofs as well as plan and produce workshops with communities around the city who are interested in either creating a green roof for their community (schools, institutional organizations) or hosting a green roof workshop day for their constituency (community organizations, neighborhood and block associations).

If you are a current proud host of a module, watch for an email soon, we want to come check on the plants and do a quick soil acid test to make sure everything is growing well!

As always, if you are interested in participating as an individual or if you think you might like to host a workshop – email me!

p.s. i will try to get some photos up of the herbs right away!

At the fabulous UPROSE in Sunset Park!

At the Co-Op School in Clinton Hill/Bed Stuy…

We added some green to the play area on the roof of a Williamsburg pre-school…

For Immediate Release Contact: Eve Mosher

October 19, 2009            646-492-1314

eve@evemosher.com

Patches of green sprouting across New York City

October – December, 2009

It may feel like fall in most of the New York, but on rooftops throughout the city, as little patches of green are sprouting, it feels a little more like spring.

Seeding the City, another public intervention by the artist Eve Mosher, is a rooftop installation 4 square feet of green roof (sedum and grasses) and a bright yellow and green flags with the project logo. The project, two years in the making, will introduce city residents to urban environmental issues and the role that green roofs play in creating a more sustainable city.

Before Mosher installs each green roof, she asks that the recipient put her in touch with two or three neighbors who are interested in the project. This neighbor-to-neighbor referral system creates a community network and gets people talking about sustainability.

The installations are being mapped and documented on the project site, SeedingTheCity.org.

Seeding The City is sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Development Fund of the New York Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by the Brooklyn Arts Council, Inc. (BAC).

Mosher is an artist that creates art that encourages participation in the urban environment, her 2007 work; HighWaterLine received international attention for raising public awareness about climate change through an arresting public act.

PDF Version

the first installations and flags are up!

bedford stuyvesant

bedford stuyvesant

crown heights

More coming!

Georgia's Place

So the first installations went out today!!

The first one went to the amazing people at Georgia’s Place in Crown Heights. I will upload photos asap. My amazing project manager, Amanda, picked up the modules at Covenant House and brought them out to Crown Heights. They looked great – they are quite small but I realized during an interview that I did that this project is all about POTENTIAL.

Forming community networks that have the POTENTIAL to rally together to take on issues in their neighborhood.

Planting small green roof modules that have the POTENTIAL to become larger.

Given people an entry into urban environmental issues and remediation so they have the POTENTIAL to educate others or educate themselves further and speak about issues.

Given that, the little modules have a lot of POTENTIAL! (Hence the name, Seeding the City, it is about planting little seeds of ideas for people to act on). Wonderfully enough, at the first site, we talked about planning a Spring Planting Day where the residents will plant lots more green roof modules to install on their rooftop. (Maybe they will even make a few to give to their friends and neighbors to carry on the tradition!)

Little modules, big roof

The second installation is at EcoArtSpace, where there will be modules on display for public viewing and information about the project. It is part of the “Down to Earth Show” – there is an opening on October 3rd, from 6-8pm (at 53 Mercer Street) and will be up through November.

Three more installations should happen over the weekend and early next week – I will keep you updated. The flags are also on their way! 

flowering!

As we rapidly approach the launch of Seeding the City (in September, more info on participating), we check in on the growth of the modules on the roof of Covenant House.

modules on roof

The grasses are having a hard time, but the sedum have already started to spread.

growing

And some local wildcards have taken root…

modules

I wonder what kind of wildlife have been taking advantage of the greenery?

wildcards

sedum extended