Panel Discussion - The Art of Gardening

Garden State Festival

Can the humble act of gardening be an art form?

Music Market

Can the humble act of gardening be an art form? What role to plants have in the arts? Is nature the better artist or ultimate collaborator? Join practitioners from the worlds of art, design and gardens in a discussion exploring the intersection of gardening and the arts. In line with government requirements, all our visitors/attendees18 years and over must have proof of vaccination or a valid exemption and check in with the Service Vic app with our QR code on entry. PanelistsAtong Atem - ArtistJo Ferguson - Garden DesignerBenja Harney - Studio PaperformJac Semmler - Head of Plants and Strategy at The Plant Society

Atong AtemAtong Atem is an Ethiopian born, South Sudanese artist and writer living in Narrm.Atem works primarily with photography and video to explore migrant narratives, postcolonial practices in the African diaspora and the exploration of identity through portraiture.Atem explores concepts of home and identity through a critical and sentimental lens and references the works of photographers Malick Sidibe and Seydou Keita and science fiction writers such as Octavia Butler as tools for navigating liminal spaces.Atem has exhibited her work across Australia, including National Gallery of Victoria, MUMA Monash, Gertrude Contemporary, Australian Center for Contemporary Art and Internationally at Red Hook Labs in New York, Vogue Fashion Fair in Milan and Unseen Amsterdam art fair.Atem was the recipient of the inaugural Art Gallery of NSW La Prairie Art Award and the inaugural National Gallery of Victoria and MECCA M-Power scholarship in 2018. Her work is in many institutional collections including The AGNSW The NGV and Art Bank.

Jo Ferguson Jo Ferguson @joferguson.gardens, Garden Designer, brings qualifications in Applied Science (Horticulture) and Graphic Design together with Environmental Management. With a background in community development, interpretation and revegetation and remnant management, which has nurtured a deep passion and cultivation of Australian grasslands in her garden and designs. Jo's practice in garden design is centred on creating uniquely personal gardens with a deep sense of place reflected in their nature and biodiversity. Jo and her husband Simon have cultivated an immersive garden encompassing their Merricks Beach home on the Mornington Peninsula.

Benja HarneyBenja Harney is a paper engineer. Working both in Australia and internationally, he is renowned as a pioneer in his field. As a professional creative, artist and educator, over the last 12 years Harney has led his Sydney-based studio, Studio Paperform, to develop a body of work that pushes the possibilities of the paper medium. Pop-up books, paper sculpture, installation, illustration, packaging, fine art, fashion, animation, set design – Harney makes anything and everything possible within this endlessly inventive material.

Jac SemmlerJac Semmler is foremost an experimental gardener and plant lover. Often located by her raucous laughter, Jac is Head of Plants and Strategy at The Plant Society and tending her private plant practice Super Bloom – bringing dynamic living beauty and diversity to urban, landscape and creative projects. With past roles as Ornamental and Seed manager at the Diggers Club, Jac is a qualified educator and horticulturalist, botanical guide and regular contributor to radio, podcasts and publications, including The Planthunter. Spending as much time as possible in her Heartland garden, Jac ponders and cultivates big questions on the intersections of gardening, beauty and identity, experimenting and contributing to the next generation of Australian gardens and gardening possibilities.

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Panel Discussion - The Art of Gardening

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Panel Discussion - The Art of Gardening

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