De/Colonial Botany

NYUAD Institute

Can we reimagine the complex relationships among nature, culture, and homeland through the lens of a decolonial botany? In this conversation, Robert Zhao Renhui and Tuấn Mami explore plants as contemporary symbols of resilience and adaptation that can shape our understanding of multispecies ecosystems and migrating communities and enrich our collective existence. In a world grappling with the climate crisis, the artists invite the audience to rethink exclusionary binaries such as invasive vs native species and to see plants as matters of emotion, memory, history, and politics. Speakers Tuấn Mami, Artist; Co-founder, Nhà Sàn Collective Robert Zhao Renhui, Artist; Founder, Institute of Critical Zoologists In conversation with Katia Arfara, Curator; Assistant Professor of Theater and Performance Studies, NYUAD