Common Rhizomes, 2019

Common Rhizomes : Creative Healing Experiences for the Land and its Histories

A series of events organized by artist Edgar Fabián Frías in collaboration with The Golden Dome, an educational and curatorial platform dedicated to studying intersections of art, metaphysics, and ecology, with support from the Tulsa Artist Fellowship. Frías collaborated with six artists based in both Tulsa and Los Angeles to co-create experiences that took place at the Lodge of Saint Reborlaro, an installation and community space created by artist Heyd Fontenot. These experiences took the form of pedagogical workshops, experiential ceremonies, performances, and more. The organizing elements behind the experiences being the structure and organizing abilities of rhizomatic plants. Looking at plants as form, ancestor, spirit, and metaphor and as a response to the current social political, historical, cultural, and personal needs of Tulsa and our country as a whole. Made in collaboration with Tulsa-based artists Heyd Fontenot, Carrie Dickason, and Alyssa Budig, along with Los Angeles based artists, Saewon Oh, Kwonyin, and Estela Sanchez.

This project was created with support by Tulsa Artist Fellowship. Created by the George Kaiser Family Foundation, Tulsa Artist Fellowship supports both local and national artists while enriching the Tulsa community.

Event Timeline

Common Rhizomes #1 Propagating Intentions August 17, 5pm - 7pm.

Tulsa Artist Fellows, Heyd Fontenot, Carrie Dickason and Edgar Fabián Frías led an intentional conversation and activity considering the myriad ways that plants can inspire and lead us to manifest our own solutions to address personal and societal needs. Looking at propagation both as physical tool and metaphysical tool for intention setting and spell casting. Attendees were able to create a spell casting collage and also take home shoots to propagate at home.

Common Rhizomes #2 The Ancestral Rhizome August 25, 6pm - 7:30pm.

We are the ginger and our ancestors the roots- horizontal in growth, fractures budding new stalks. The ancestral as a function of horizontal (space) instead of vertical (time)- how then do we connect, reach, receive each other?

Using play and embodiment/performance practices, artists Este Sanchez and Edgar Fabián Frías explored the ancestral rhizome ginger while connecting to the movements, sounds and sensations of the body. The experience was made in honor of the ginger root plant and its ancestral spirit body and dedicated to the Amazon Rainforest. The duo also worked on a rainbow soundscape for the experience, seen below.

Common Rhizomes #3 Catharsis: Emotional Alchemy Journey September 7, 6pm - 8pm.

Emotional alchemist, Kwonyin, and potion maker, Saewon Oh, led an immersive workshop exploring and transmuting our emotional and energetic landscapes. Working with a dialogue based excavation process and with support from their Catharsis potion (more info below!), the group unearthed the collective shadow energy embedded within us and in the land.

The Catharsis potion is a flower essence based elixir crafted for your underworld journey, to surrender to your deepest vulnerabilities and release long held emotional wounds.

This potion contains blood rose essence, holly essence, rhodonite essence, rose hydrosol, brandy.

Common Rhizomes #4 DNA Garden : Building Relationships with Your Plant Seeds August 21, 6pm - 8pm.

This workshop focused on intentional plant germination using one’s body, and every day meditations, as a creative tool when sowing seeds. Participants worked with the native seed species, Passiflora Incarnata, which is native to the Tulsa geographic region and learned about how these plants are nurturing and healing to the local ecosystems.

This immersive workshop was led by Tulsa based artist, Alyssa Budig, who began with a short creative movement performance and invited attendees to develop a relationship with the local seed species by germinating the seed in their bodies (e.g. their mouths, hands, underneath their armpits). Attendees were able to go home with a freshly germinated seed or added their seed to a communal pot which was placed outside of The Lodge of Saint Reborlaro. The resulting rhizomatic plant growth will become a communal object of care and reflection for the Tulsa Community.