At a moment when ecological concerns are becoming increasingly urgent, Seeds: Containers of a World to Come brings into dialogue work by ten contemporary artists whose research-based practices are defined by sustained inquiry into plant–human–land relations. For the artists Shiraz Bayjoo, Carolina Caycedo, Juan William Chávez, Beatriz Cortez, Ellie Irons, Kapwani Kiwanga, Jumana Manna, Anne Percoco, Cecilia Vicuña, and Emmi Whitehorse, the seed is the kernel, literally and metaphorically, of their investigations into issues of fragility, preservation, and possibility in the face of the global climate crisis.

Together the artworks in the exhibition suggest the seed as a timely means to address existential matters. Seeds are the first link in the food chain, the embodiment of biological and cultural diversity, and the repository of life’s future evolution. Cultivated by humans for millennia, seed varieties carry with them local histories as well as histories of migration and survival, bridging cultures, territories, and time periods. As Cecilia Vicuña puts it, “Every seed is a spaceship, a nomad planet waiting to sprout.” The exhibition aims to spark active and imaginative responses through encounters with visually arresting artworks that reflect on and reframe our understanding of current environmental challenges and our connection to the natural world.