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¡Plantásticas!
Our Lives with Plants
March 23–September 10, 2023
Get to know the wonderful world of las plantas! From maíz to marigolds, plants shape our cultura and our planet. Take a look at plants from many angles—food, science, gardening, and more. Touch plants, grind them up and smell them, study them under microscopes, and meet the gente who care for them.
¡Plantásticas! was developed with collaborators from the Latinx and Indigenous communities. Relax in immersive plant installations by Los Angeles artist Andi Xoch (#LatinxWithPlants), dig into Indigenous plant knowledge with Cafe Ohlone’s Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino, and more. Plus don’t miss a plant-tastic series of programs for all ages. Come enjoy this new multilingual exhibition and 600+ interactive exhibits with toda la familia! #Plantasticas
Exhibits and Artwork
Events
There's always something interesting happening here—check out our upcoming events calendar.
Meet the Collaborators
Andi Xoch, Latinx with Plants
Based in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, artist Andi Xoch founded Latinx with Plants to create beautiful environments that help people in the Latinx community to appreciate and connect with plants.
For ¡Plantásticas!, she developed two plant-based installations—inspired by the front yard garden of Elizabeth Montufar and community gardens in Boyle Heights.
Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino, Ohlone Cultural Leaders
As Ohlone people focused on sustaining their traditional culture, Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino have spent years working to gain fluency in the languages and old-time culinary traditions of their people.
Vincent and Louis curated some of the content for the Scent Memories and Story Slides exhibits, and they’re featured in a series of four videos exploring the integral role of plants in Ohlone cultural traditions.
hityum-t tiwšina mak-nuunu, Vincent Medina ‘at Louis Trevino ‘ukšeereyṭ hemmen-t miččiyamu tappen mak-noono ‘at tappen mak-’amham hinniy holše mak-warép
makkin ‘alšip ta-mak hinšuuš mak-nuunu heemete. makkin taahey ta-mak miččiya ‘at tappe wakiimimo makkin ‘iššana hoosi mak-suyyakma ‘uyyakiš. hinniy mak-miččiya, makkin tappe mak-noono, mak-‘amham, mak-nuunu. makkin hooyomak ‘amham ta-mak warép, yakmuytak.
The paragraphs above are in Chochenyo, the language spoken by Ohlone people of the East Bay.
Doña Maria Ávila Vera, Maya Elder
A Maya elder and plant enthusiast, Doña Maria Ávila Vera is a steward and teacher of the traditions of her ancestors. She uses her life experience and her native language, Yucatec Mayan, to pass on her traditional knowledge. She spends her time in Petaluma, California, and Mérida, Yucatán.
For ¡Plantásticas!, Doña Maria joined our community workshops on exhibition content, experience, and design, and she has presented at several public programs about corn and traditional Maya foods.
Related Science Snacks
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Funded by a generous grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, with additional support from the Troy and Leslie Daniels Fund for Life Sciences.
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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Science & Technology Center Award #DBI-1548297. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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