The Homeless Garden Project's acknowledges the interconnectedness between

all life and systems. It seeks to investigate the role the arts plays in opening up a

dialogue about repair through combining embodied investigation and live performance.

 

The performance features soil, plants, and breath in a piece featuring somatic poetry that shines a light onto the birthing body, community, and belonging while

collectively ‘ birthing’ a garden facing the gaze of the Statue of Thomas Guy to an

amplified soundscape of women’s birth stories. A diverse group of women from various socio-economical-cultural-generational backgrounds come together in an embodied exploration drawing on experiential anatomy and approaches of dance movement therapy.

 

This project seeks to address the tension between systems that prioritize profit and growth at the expense of social and environmental well-being that contribute to the

mistreatment of individuals, communities and the earth. Economic systems often exploit natural resources and labour, including women's unpaid care work, leading to environmental degradation. By combining performance, live art, dance, movement, and a connection to the earth, the project aims to create a holistic approach to empowerment, the recognition of the multiple interconnected challenges faced by marginalized communities and invites us all to stand in solidarity with the stories that birthed us into this world.

 

The performance happening took place on the 20th of May 2023 as part of The

Oxytocin Festival and was co-produced by the pioneering organization Procreate

Project that aim to create a platform for interdisciplinary critical art practices,

intersectional feminist theories and health/maternity services.