Join us at Matthaei Botanical Gardens on January 28th from 2-4pm for a meet and greet reception, offering a unique opportunity to connect with the talented artists featured in the Kina n’da-nowendaaganag / All My Relations art show as well as some of the individuals showcased in the Rooting Reciprocity conservatory exhibit. Light snacks and refreshments will be provided. This event is free and open to the public.

Matthaei Botanical Gardens will feature two linked exhibitions created by undergraduate student and former MBGNA DEIJA researcher Mahalina Dimacali. These exhibitions, Rooting Reciprocity and Kina n’da-nowendaaganag / All My Relations, are the culmination of 3 years of research and engaged scholarship to create a framework for botanical gardens rooted in community needs and co-liberatory practice.

Kina n’da-nowendaaganag / All My Relations is an Anishinaabek art show, focused on traditional and contemporary art, and how artists relate to plant relatives through inherent connections to the land. Like Rooting Reciprocity, all signs in the show will be written in community voices.

Rooting Reciprocity In the tropical, temperate, and desert houses of the conservatory, engage with newly designed signs written by global Indigenous community representatives that convey their relationship to a plant relative of their choosing. Each sign is accompanied by life-size portrait installations created by artists Mahalina Dimacali and Zoi Crampton. This exhibition invites visitors to consider the many ways land-based relationships can take shape, connect with culture keepers who preserve these stories, and challenge the colonial information and knowledge systems western botanical gardens are founded upon.