PAPER LABS
Workshops Vancouver/Tkaronto/Tiohtià:ke

May to August 2024

In 2024 we created a series of ten free workshops with site-specific “invasive plants species” we called PAPER LABS. This took place on the territories of the Coast Salish/Vancouver, Tkaronto, and Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang/Montréal.

Depending on location, the species and removal practices can differ. We learned about the interspecies relationships that each plant holds. For this reason, traveling from city to city created a material study on “invasive species” and interspecies relationships.

In each place, we connect with local land stewardship groups to make use of the plants that they are removing which are otherwise sent to landfill. These groups are set up to remove “invasive plant species” to support the biodiversity of native plants. By spending time with these groups, we learn about the infrastructure that is built around these removals, investigating the land management practices (colonial and indigenous) that shapes our urban greenspaces.

Along with this, comes a conversation about what it means to be stewarding land, who has the access and time to participate, and who is making the decisions on what is being removed. The plant that we now focus on is called dog-strangling vine, a plant native to Ukraine and Russia and invasive to the Great Lakes Regions in Canada.

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and  Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec.