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Seeds of Change at Arnolfini

Arnolfini has been working with a wide range of Bristol communities on an unusual project led by an artist nurturing seeds, some of which may be hundreds of years old, found in riverside mud samples.

Brazilian Artist Maria Thereza Alves has been working on Seeds of Change with groups and individuals from Bristol. Alves has traced sites of leftover ballast dumped over the centuries in and around Bristol's port. Ballast was used on ships to balance the vessel and usually constituted sand, stones, earth and bricks, often picked up from far-flung destinations. Taking soil samples she has germinated the seeds and seedlings she found there, some of which may have lain dormant for many years.

Bristol artist Gloria Ojulari Sule has assisted the groups to care for these plants over the summer. Participants included People First, BTCV, LAFTA (Looked After Fostered and Transracially Adopted), Breathing Fire, First Born Creatives, Malcolm X Elders Forum and Full Circle (a youth and family project in St Paul's).

One of the most interesting elements of the project for the participants is waiting to see what will grow- in LAFTA's case an enormous stinging nettle. Members of Breathing Fire currently have trays crammed with greenery whilst local artist Folake Shoga had some little seedlings coming up and is looking forward to some larger exotic plants arriving. Things haven't always gone according to plan; First Born Creatives' seeds were knocked off a window sill during a break in at Easton Community Centre where the group are based, but one of the participants managed to rescue the remains and nurture them back to life.

Tom Trevor, Director of Arnolfini, commented;
"This is a really interesting project for Bristol. The plants and the groups involved reflect the complexity and diversity of the city's trade and social history as well as its present."

The mature plants will be displayed in Arnolfini accompanied by photographs of the participants and information about ballast. It is part of Port City: on mobility and exchange, a major cross art form project that includes an exhibition, off site projects, film screenings, a weekend of live art, online projects and artist led events and walks including a symposium. The project will eventually tour on to other port city venues in the UK including Liverpool and Southampton.

The exhibition is free and runs from 15 September until 11 November.