Cardiff

The Trans-Plantable Living Room, Cardiff, 2013

The Trans-Plantable Living Room was an outdoor, community-grown, edible ‘living’ room space based on the original Living Stage concept. Combining permaculture, story-telling, stage design and performance, the Trans-plantable Living Room brought together artists, gardeners and growers, both internationally and locally to perform in September 2013. The Trans-Plantable Living Room hosted interactive performances by international performance collective Plantable  (Lisa Woynarski, Bronwyn Preece and Megan Moe Beitiks) underneath a tree in Bute Park behind the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, as part of World Stage Design festival and in London at Central School of Speech and Drama.

The ‘living’ room design included household items and furniture (sourced from car yard sales) and adapted to grow plants. The creative process was a collaboration between an international group of artists and community groups. A network of Cardiff based gardeners grew plants for the space, coordinated by Sam Holt of Riverside Community Allotments. The oral history interviews investigated personal narratives about gardening in Cardiff: why people garden, how gardening practices have changed over time and what role they see local, small-scale food production taking in providing food in today’s fast-changing world. Ideas unearthed in workshops and interviews were woven together by Plantable Performance Research Collective, to create an immersive, interactive performance.

“With farmers and growers fighting against the struggles of climate change, bees and birds struggling to deal with intensive agricultural methods and society being so disconnected from the food they eat, the project is a fantastic and alternative approach to addressing the country’s growing issues” (Permaculture Magazine UK 2013)

For more information about the project see our film or read about the project experience and see Nigel Pugh’s amazing photos

Credits

Producer: World Stage Design

Performance: Plantable Research Collective (Lisa Woynarski, Bronwyn Preece and Megan

Moe Beitiks)

Lead Designer: Tanja Beer

Assistant Designer: Erini Gregoriades

Growing and design: Sam Holt and the Riverside Community Allotments (A project that provides a place where people can learn how to grow food in a sociable and supportive atmosphere)

Documentary film-maker Film: Rabab Ghazoul

Producers and promoters: Sarah Jayne Leigh and Mawgaine Tarrant-Cornish

Photos: Nigel Pugh, Valeria Pacchiani and Flor Dias

Acknowledgements: Becca Clarke of Green City Events, Michele Fitzsimmons of Edible

Landscaping, Polly Reichelt and Adamsdown Community Garden, Alistair Rowan and Field

Days Organics (Innovate Trust) and Vegalive Aquaponics. Katie Jones of Federation of City

Farms and Community Gardens, People’s Collection Wales

Interviewees: Anne Bateman, Anon, Richard Berry, Gordon David Clarke, Sophie Durnan,

Edith England, Michele Fitzsimmons, Stephen Garrett, Sam Holt, Jason Horn, Kate Knowles,

Yvan Maurel, Lewis Mottrum, Monica Nobriga, Helen Reardon, Mariusz Rogacz, Tim

Stevenson, Stephen Watts, Dafyd Williams

Thanks to all those who kindly gave their time, ideas and resources to

the project: Claire Bracegirdle, Frances Smith-Williams, Eva Krasenska, Owen Evans, Ian

Garrett and CSPA, Gisela Beer, Manuela Franken, Freya Stanley-Price, Rosie Strickland, Kit

Jones, Allan Shepherd, Ariana Jordao, Harry Giles, Emma Williams and everyone at World

Stage Design (WSD)

Special thanks to Wefund supporters and grant-funders:

Artist’s Project Earth, World Stage Design, Edes Foundation and Our Food