a space to gather, a place to grow, 2025

construction materials

A space to gather, a place to grow is a project initiated by Yvette Bathgate & Jake Shepherd that takes the form of a greenhouse constructed in the community garden of EKKM. The greenhouse will be activated as a collective space through a programme of public events and workshops developed in collaboration with invited practitioners. In a garden, a greenhouse allows for more growth by harnessing the energy around it. This, as the site in which a series of events will be held, also acts as a catalyst for community building through creative processes. Within the greenhouse are a series of objects composed of found and repurposed material, the immediate structures often found around gardens, and handcrafted items; benches, a rug, mobile shelving, carved stone, (among others). The objects act as a gentle welcome to the space, intended as a quiet act of care. Some serve a function, others are decorative. During the programme these physical support structures furnish the space, gesturing that the site is a place to spend time, rest, read, gather; they speak of hospitality. These slow making processes mirror the subtlety of labours of care and relationship building, tending and reattending, Among them are ceramics, textiles and other objects made during public workshops, intentionally expanding the collective processes that the space seeks to initiate; growing throughout the programme. Repair, tending to and a collective responsibility is build into the space, in the site as a community garden and in it’s construction. Moten uses the term ‘anoriginal repair’ in which we understand and and refer to in the act of re-attention, re-attending, re-mending; the process of continued repair. Throughout the duration we will be on site gardening, writing, drawing, reading, weaving and spending time; we welcome you to join us informally in these moments, as a space to gather a place to grow. Follow how the programme unfurls @aspacetogatheraplacetogrow This work is included in the exhibition, always is everywhere, curated by Margit Säde, at the Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia.