Taking Root Among the Stars
Octavia E. Butler’s trailblazing 1993 science fiction book Parable of the Sower, from the Earthseed trilogy, begins on July 20, 2024. In light of this important date, W139 has invited artists Müge Yilmaz and Anna Hoetjes to initiate an exhibition that emerges from the legacy of Butler’s work.
The exhibition will feature the work of artists and writers who use science fiction not only as a theme in their work, but also as a tool to propose different social realities, alternative futures, and communal relations to nature. The exhibition centers an interdisciplinary exploration of feminist, decolonial, speculative worldbuilding, using it as a tool to critique the society we live in and write ourselves into the future(s) we want to see.
The exhibition was preceded by Gathering Earthseed, a full-day gathering about feminist science-fiction and the legacy of Octavia E. Butler on July 20th, with a panel conversation, workshops, a ritual and a collective dinner.
Picture: The Adventures of Umay Ixa Kayakızı (2022) by Müge Yilmaz presented at UNFAIR23 in collaboration with Buro Stedelijk.
