{"id":229651,"date":"2026-05-13T06:05:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T06:05:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/229651\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T06:05:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T06:05:36","slug":"brooklyn-botanic-garden-to-open-ancestral-ecologies-exhibition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/229651\/","title":{"rendered":"Brooklyn Botanic Garden to Open Ancestral Ecologies Exhibition"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cAncestral Ecologies,\u201d is an exhibition exploring Latinx and African diasporic relationships to land, ritual and spirituality can inform contemporary ecological thinking. <\/p>\n<p data-end=\"1839\" data-start=\"1435\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbg.org\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Brooklyn Botanic Garden<\/a> will open <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbg.org\/visit\/event\/ancestral_ecologies\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ancestral Ecologies<\/a>,\u00a0a site-specific exhibition by artist Olalekan Jeyifous and environmental art and architecture practice AD\u2014WO, on view May 23 \u2013 Oct. 25.<\/p>\n<p data-end=\"1839\" data-start=\"1435\">The project marks the first presentation of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbg.org\/collections\/heidi_nitze_art_environment_fellowship\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Garden\u2019s Heidi Nitze Art \u00d7 Environment Fellowship<\/a>, a biennial program supporting collaborations at the intersection of art, science and environmental research.<\/p>\n<p data-end=\"2181\" data-start=\"1841\">The exhibition examines how Latinx and African diasporic relationships to land, ritual and spirituality can inform contemporary ecological thinking. Installed across the garden\u2019s north end, the work draws on animist traditions that frame human and nonhuman life as interconnected, emphasizing exchange between people, plants and ecosystems.<\/p>\n<p data-end=\"2181\" data-start=\"1841\">\u201cWe\u2019re really interested in this notion of nonhuman aliveness,\u201d said artist Olalekan Jeyifous. \u201cSo, this is a collaboration not just with each other but also with the plants, soil and environment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"bbg_ancestral-ecologiesserpentine-specter\" id=\"file-4385036\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/bbg_ancestral-ecologiesserpentine-specter.jpg;w=960.jpeg\"\/>&#13;<br \/>\nSerpentine Specter, 2026, Olalekan Jeyifous and AD\u2014WO. Photo: Supplied\/ Brooklyn Botanic Garden&#13;<\/p>\n<p data-end=\"2839\" data-start=\"2183\">Several installations respond directly to the surrounding landscape. Serpentine Specter\u00a0references the Native Flora Garden\u2019s distinct ecology through sculptural forms made from bioderived fibers and kiln-fired glass, while\u00a0Sonic Strands features hanging elements composed of shells, beads and repurposed materials that produce sound through wind and movement, reflecting migration and cultural continuity.<\/p>\n<p data-end=\"3197\" data-start=\"2841\">The fellowship emphasizes research and public engagement. The team worked with garden staff, researchers from Columbia University\u2019s Natural Materials Lab and local participants, including members of the Greenest Block program. Visitors also contributed to aspects of the installation, reinforcing the exhibition\u2019s focus on shared ecological responsibility.<\/p>\n<p data-end=\"3365\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\" data-start=\"3199\">Additional materials documenting the creative process will be presented in the Conservatory Gallery, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the development of the work.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"bbg_ancestral-ecologies_animist-capsules\" id=\"file-4385041\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/bbg_ancestral-ecologies_animist-capsules.png;w=960.png\"\/>&#13;<br \/>\nAnimist Capsule, 2026, Olalekan Jeyifous and AD\u2014WO Photo: Supplied\/ Brooklyn Botanic Garden&#13;<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cAncestral Ecologies,\u201d is an exhibition exploring Latinx and African diasporic relationships to land, ritual and spirituality can inform&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":229652,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,640,100,99,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-229651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-botanic-garden","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229651\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/229652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}