The artist fieldwork is andrea haenggi’s outdoor studio space-> the Urban Weeds Garden. The Urban Weeds Garden extends the traditional garden model to embrace the spontaneous growth of ruderal and pioneer species – most often called weeds. Rather than cultivating plants, andrea haenggi works with the existing garden of weedy species. She sees herself as a Radical Care-Sitter, where through listening and noticing she may air plants out to give smaller plants an opportunity to grow.— In 2013 they were only 5 plants in this former auto repair shop. Over time she cleaned the soil and by being a Radical Care-Sitter allowed plants to have a residency. In spring 2017 she counted over 40 plant species. Her practice with this garden is a cultivation for inter-species alliances, empathy, resilience, and stewardship for a beyond-human urban ecology. In Summer 2017 the Urban Weeds Garden becomes now the Urban Weeds Community Garden and with the new artist collective with Christopher Kennedy, Carrie Ahern, Ellie Irons, Catherine Grau and herself they are co-creating the Environmental Performance Agency
The Environmental Performance Agency (EPA) is an artist collective founded in response to the proposed defunding of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Our aim is to shift thinking around the terms environment, performance, and agency – using artistic, social, and embodied practices to advocate for the agency of all living performers co-creating our environment, specifically through the lens of spontaneous urban plants, native or migrant.