Unearthed: The Power of Gardening is a new, FREE exhibition at Leeds Central Library in Room 700 from 10 September - 29 October exploring the transformative, enriching and sometimes radical power of gardening. Inspired by the British Library’s major exhibition, we are part of a network of 30 library services celebrating gardening through the UK-wide Living Knowledge Network.
From windowsills to allotments, Unearthed: The Power of Gardening explores how the act of gardening can heal and sustain people in a multitude of ways. It reveals how gardening can bring people together, empower communities and shape our relationship with the natural world. It also considers gardening as a form of activism, as a means of challenging land ownership and highlighting social disparities, as well as providing a global story about the movement of plants.
We have put together an exciting programme of events to complement the exhibition - find more information and book here.
Check out our specially curated list of gardening related books. and we have a lovely list of eAudio stories and poems for a walk in nature via BorrowBox.
The Speaking Garden
Accompanying the exhibition, Buffalo Sound Design present a multimedia installation entitled The Speaking Garden, taking inspiration from our special collections and the gardeners and growers of Leeds.
You can expect a peaceful space for reflection with colourful projected visuals and a soothing soundscape that includes a growing ‘garden of voices’ who will share what gardening or growing means to them and what they’ve learned that they would pass on to others.
If gardening or gardens means something to you, we’d like your voice to be part of The Speaking Garden! We’re in the process of collecting the seeds for our garden of voices. We’re gathering audio clips of the people of Leeds answering two questions:
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Why do gardens or gardening mean something to you?
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What have you learned from gardening that you’d like to pass on to others?
If you’d like your voice to be part of The Speaking Garden, you can record yourself on your phone or computer answering our two questions and send it as an attachment or link to Leeds.Libraries@Leeds.gov.uk.