<

Garden of Agency is a project that invites the participants to imagine the relationships between horses and plants. The horses learn about their environment and themselves together with their herd. This is something humans could do better. Garden of Agency is an audio work that takes its participants into a sandy paddock in horse stables where not many plants thrive, and challenges them to imagine herding in a medicinal garden. The art work proposes a healthy herding encounter in the times of pandemic when people haven’t had an opportunities for social ponding. The encounter is facilitated with herding knowledge from horses and help of medicinal plants such as Yarrow and Willow. During the session, the participants experience herding to explore their own bodies in the group of humans in possible synchrony. Also the senses of touch and smell are activated with dried plants.

Garden of Agency was performed in Ruskeasuo horse stables in Helsinki, Finland 10. of September 2021. It was a part of Rehearsing Hospitalities event organised by Frame Finland.

Garden of Agency was initiated and recorded in Toiska green care farm, practising horse therapy in Ilmajoki, Finland. In 2022, a horse pharmacy garden will be planted on the farm. In this garden, the horse herd can find different kinds of plants to support their well-being.  

Thank you Antye Greie-Ripatti for the sound editing and Yvonne Billimore from Frame for the great curating collaboration and production. Thank you also Jussi Koitela from Frame. Always grateful to Toiska human team and the fantastic horse collaborators.