CULTIVATE is pleased to present a guided discussion led by Baltimore-based Mexican American artist Edgar Reyes on the power and knowledge that can be shared through plants. Reyes shares how indigenous plants, food, and language have influenced his practice. He analyzes the distinct ways in which myths and colonial perspectives have created hybrid traditions and beliefs.

Reyes’ work has been centered around reflecting on his family’s history and the distinct places they have called home, documenting their stories and collecting photos from family archives and Mexican street markets. His interest lies in the mementos people cherish and the layers of loss endured from migration and the passing of loved ones. “To me,” says Reyes, “our most precious memories play a vital role in helping us cope with loss and displacement. Many of the pieces that I have created are filled with visual layers that represent the hope and pain we have, and continue to endure, as many of us seek refuge. The imagery alludes to my ancestral past and my family’s spiritual connection with plants.”

About Edgar Reyes: Edgar Reyes is a multimedia artist based in the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area. Reyes earned his M.F.A. from Maryland Institute College of Art and has taught at non-profit organizations, schools, and museums. Many of his projects are autobiographical and a reflection of his personal journey as an undocumented youth in the United States. Reyes is driven by the desire to raise an awareness and question the displacement of his community.

He explores how the blending of Indigenous and European traditions is an ongoing process of conquest and resistance. His art practice highlights the beauty of being Mexican American and questions his national and cultural traditions. He challenges social norms to express what it means for him to be labeled Latino. His art making is centered around building compassion and understanding regarding the complex history of forced and voluntary resettlement throughout the Americas. http://reyesedgar.com

About CULTIVATE: Cultivate is an evolving collection of interdisciplinary artists, writers, and researchers driven by investigations of landscape, place, and the commons. Projects include experimental and practical art explorations that wrestle with the qualities, perceptions, and layers of experience that inform and expand notions of landscape. Ideas from a full spectrum of voices across generations are supported using sustainable tactics. From the hyper-local to the global, Cultivate reflects individual and collective curiosity, intention, imagining, and engagement with the phenomena of landscape.

Location: Shifting virtual and analog locations in watersheds around the globe with physical bases in the Washington, D. C. metro area, Montana, and Italy.

RSVP for zoom link: https://www.cultivateprojects.net/edgar-reyes

For information or images, please contact Susan Main at 301-943-4190 or [email protected].