The artists and curators of Chance Ecologies invite you to a final day of public events at their studio residency, Chance Ecologies: Flushing River. This six-week-long artists residency is located at the Studio In The Park, adjacent to the Queens Museum.

1pm to 2pm:
The Contradiction of the Urban Wilderness (Daniel Campo)
& Seed Collecting Walk (Ellie Irons and Anne Percoco)

Daniel Campo, author of The Accidental Playground, will lead the first part of a walk through the Willow Lake Preserve, exploring the headwaters of the Flushing River, which are located in a man-made “natural” landscape where the Parks Department has planted over 13,000 trees, 5,000 shrubs, and 66,000 herbaceous plants.

The second part of this walk will be led by collaborating artist Ellie Irons and Anne Percoco, who have been creating a seed library of weedy species from various chance ecological sites, where wild growing plants reclaim post-industrial spaces. They will share their insights into different plant species and how to identify them, and invite particpants to contribute to their seed collection.

Please Note:
This walk will begin at 1pm at the western entrance to the Pat Dolan nature trail, at 72nd St and the Grand Central Parkway. The closest subway station is 75 Ave on the E/F line. After the walk, we will collectively commute to the Queens Museum to attend the following events. The nature trail is not a paved road, and we advise you to wear sturdy, waterproof shoes, long pants and insect repellent.

3pm – Wild Flower Boutique (Marek and Kristyna Milde)
Join artists Kristyna and Marek Milde at the Studio In The Park for an interactive workshop on the culture and rituals of flower giving, engaging local plants and wildflowers gathered on their walks around Flushing Creek and in the urban landscapes of Queens. This event is a window into the overseen beauty in the chance ecologies that surrounds us.

4pm – Sound and Light Performance (Raphaele Shirley)
Artist Raphaele Shirley will present a sound and light performance based on her week of research at the Studio In The Park, collaborating with musician David Watson. The performance is a smaller version of “3 trees and 100 pink smoke flares,” which she is developing for Chance Ecologies’ exhibition at the Queens Museum in October. This performance is part of the artist’s series creating S.O.S. signals for endangered landscapes.

5pm – Chance Ecologies: Flushing River Closing Ceremony
To close their six-week-long artists residency at the Studio In The Park, Chance Ecologies curators Catherine Grau and Nathan Kensinger will highglight the projects and research that have been realized as part of this summer’s creative investigation of the Flushing River. We invite you to join in a discussion about the past, present and future of this waterway and other similar sites in Queens.