Description
Plants do not recognize hierarchical power. They create communities based on relationships among the organisms that make them up. They know that all of them are essential for the survival of the plant-animal community because we are one. Plants limit their growth when resources start to run out, taking care of future generations. And us?
Article 7 of the Plant Manifesto states:
"The Nation of Plants does not recognize borders. Every living being has the right to move and choose a place to live."
Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:
"Everyone has the right to seek asylum and enjoy it in other countries in the event of persecution."
It is not enough to have the right to migrate when fleeing persecution. Migration is a necessity or a choice. We should always be able to migrate. Animals migrate, plants migrate. Migration is a natural survival strategy, and blocking it is limiting dignity. Movement is much more than that. It is the essence of life.
The Plant Manifesto consists of six articles we developed, inspired by the text The Nation of Plants by Stefano Mancuso. These articles form the basis for workshop processes with participants of diverse ages and cultures. Each time, we examine the principles that govern the plant world and reflect on topics we want to address, comparing these principles to our present-day reality.
"The Nation of Plants does not recognize borders. Every living being has the right to move and choose a place to live."
Parts
Work on the Plant Manifesto began at the start of 2024. As part of our Azyl Warszawa workshop program, we created the first version of the Manifesto, designed as an interactive performative event for World Refugee Day. The first Manifesto was an auditory experience in a silent disco format, exploring the space of the Playground by the Vistula River. The second version of the Plant Manifesto was also an event in an urban space – this time in Bologna during the Re-think The Challenge festival, co-created by Cantieri Meticci, Strefa WolnoSłowa, and Reimagining Mobilities. The latest version of the Plant Manifesto was performed at Teatr Powszechny, Warsaw.
Please contact us
If you are interested in creating a new version of the Manifesto, organizing a workshop process, or hosting a performative event around the Plant Manifesto in your community, please feel free to contact us!
Colophon
The Plant Manifesto was funded by the European Union's NextGenerationEU.
The Plant Manifesto performance is part of the Re-think the challenge project funded by the Allianz Foundation and the Dramaturgie Społeczne project co-financed by the City of Warsaw.