Follow the Plants

Follow the Plants is transhistorical, inter and trans local project that situates artistic practices within and among creative lives of plants. Unfurling in different phases and formations Follow the Plants has become a long-term research enquiry for artists in the Food Art Research Network and other invited contributors in collaboration with Bioart Society.  Expanding  from an experimental exchange initiated by Madeleine Collie in 2023 and developed in dialogue with Yvonne Billimore the project offers a long term platform for entangled plant research from exchanges among artists, an experimental publication, a city wide research assembly and upcoming exhibition platforms.

The first phase of Follow the Plants in 2023-24 invited eighteen artists across Americas, Australia, Asia, Europe and South Africa to rethink cultural practices through collaborations with plants, as growing, decaying, and metamorphosing beings that shape the places they inhabit.

From 2024-26 Follow the Plants has continued through the development of an experimental publication, that expands artist correspondence, both with other artists and with plants that are central to their work. Featuring over 40 contributors, the anthology brings together artists, scholars, and collectives who work with plants as collaborators, teachers, and political agents.

Contributors include: AK Wane, Åsa Sonjasdotter, Alana Hunt, Annalee Davis, Banu Subramaniam, Beatriz Paz Jiménez, Christian Thompson, Clare Qualmann, Diana Vieira, Elia Nurvista, Franswa Tibere, Gargi Bhattacharyya, Grace Gloria Denis, Joana Quiroga, Johanes Jamil, Jorge Menna Barreto, Joshua Gebert, Joss Allen, Keg de Souza, Kristina Jones, Kyriaki Goni, Leone Contini, Lucy Davis, Madeleine Collie, Marta Fernández Calvo, Margherita Pevere, Matti Aikio, Mariana Martínez Balvanera, Nathalie Muchamad, Nida Sinnokrot, Nick Anderson, Rain Wu, Rubiane Maia, Shalini Krishan, Sirkku Rosi, Yvonne Billimore, Zayaan Khan, Zheng Bo.

Edited by Madeleine Collie and Yvonne Billimore, Follow The Plants will be published by Discipline and Onomatopee in August 2026.

Follow the Plants Research Assembly

This free, multi-day open programme brings Follow the Plants research to life through film, performance and social practice. Both theoretical and embodied, it unfolds through growing, cultivation and food-based practices, situating artistic research within the creative lives of plants. The assembly programme is realised in a city wide partnership and will take place at HIAP – Helsinki International Artist Programme, Helsinki Art Museum, Kaisanemi Botanic Garden (outdoor garden), Kenno Filmi and Cinema Orion, and Koekeittiö / Test Kitchen.  The assembly is generously funded by Saastamoinen Foundation with support from the Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland.

Contributors

Event programme curated by Madeleine Collie and Yvonne Billimore, featuring: Edible Archives (Shalini Krishan and Anumitra Ghosh Dastidar), Joana Quiroga, Joona Sorsa, Katie Lenanton, Kyriaki Goni, Margherita Pevere, Matti Aikio, Nathalie Muchamad, Rubiane Maia, Sepideh Rahaa, Sirkku Rosi, Sonja Donner.

Film programme curated by Danai Anagnostou, featuring: AK Wane, Alana Hunt, Barbara Hammer, Catriona Gallagher, Elia Nurvista, Otar Iosseliani, Theo Panagopoulos, Yugantar Collective.

Assembly programme

Wednesday 26 August
18:00-21:00 Menu and meal by Edible Archives (Shalini Krishan and Anumitra Ghosh Dastidar), Joona Sorsa and Sonja Donner.
Venue: Koekeittiö / Test Kitchen

Thursday 27 August
17:00-18:30 Book launch with readings and presentations by editors Madeleine Collie and Yvonne Billimore and contributors Kyriaki Goni and Matti Aikio. Drinks by Katie Lenanton.
Venue: HAM – Helsinki Art Museum

Booking required: The space has limited capacity please RSVP here.

Come raise a glass with us in an evening of readings and reflections to celebrate the launch of our newly published book Follow the Plants, edited by Madeleine Collie and Yvonne Billimore, and published by Discipline and Onomatopee.

Friday 28 August
11:00-14:00 Follow the Plants x Kenno Filmi film program, curated by Danai Anagnostou, featuring AK Wane, Alana Hunt, Barbara Hammer, Catriona Gallagher, Elia Nurvista, Otar Iosseliani, Theo Panagopoulos, Yugantar Collective. Venue: Cinema Orion

16:00-18:00 Garden readings with OOO Radio and Follow the Plants contributors near and far, including Joana Quiroga and Sirkku Rosi. Venue: Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden, outdoor garden and broadcast on OOO Radio

Saturday 29 August
14:00-16:00 Breadfruit workshop with Nathalie Muchamad
17:00-21:00 Performance program with Margherita Pevere, Sepideh Rahaa and Rubiane Maia.

Venue: HIAP Gallery Augusta (Helsinki International Artist Program)

All Follow the Plants Assembly programme is free of charge but some venues have limited capacity.

Registration opens in early August follow Bioart Society and Food Art Research Network for updates.

Partners and funders

The assembly programme is realised in a city wide partnership and will take place at HIAP – Helsinki International Artist Programme, Helsinki Art Museum, Kaisanemi Botanic Garden (outdoor garden) with OOO Radio, Cinema Orion with Kenno Filmi, and Koekeittiö / Test Kitchen.

The assembly is generously funded by Saastamoinen Foundation with support from the Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland and AVEK, Mediarata 9.

Follow The Plants is published by Onomatopee and Discipline, and funded by Creative Australia, Saastamoinen Foundation, Frame Contemporary Art Finland, Stanley Picker Gallery at Kingston University, and the University of East London Sustainability Research Institute.