Dear Garden: An Exhibition by DAAP Fine Arts Students at the CGC

To commemorate its 80th anniversary, the Civic Garden Center proudly presents Dear Garden, an exhibition of artworks by DAAP Fine Arts students from the University of Cincinnati. The pieces will be displayed at the Civic Garden Center from July 26 to August 9, 2022.

Please Join Us!

You’re invited to join us for the opening, which is free and open to the public. The evening will include presentations by the artists as well as conversation, food, and beverages in the garden.

When: Tuesday, July 26, 2022 from 5 to 7pm
Where: The Civic Garden Center, 2715 Reading Rd., 45206 (more info)

The Story of the Project

The idea of partnering with a class to celebrate the Civic Garden Center’s milestone year came from Michelle Ratterman, the nonprofit’s Administrative and Facilities Manager. “I believe art and gardening go hand in hand,” she said. “Both are creative activities.” She sent out a proposal asking students to use the themes of sustainability, community, and gardening to develop installation work in the medium of their choice. The project piqued the interest of DAAP professor Mrin Aggarwal, and a collaboration was born. The result is Dear Garden.

Developed over the course of the semester by Professor Aggarwal’s Installation Art class, the exhibition’s outdoor, public, and site-specific artworks explore contemporary concerns within landscape and advance research and engagement at Hauck Botanic Gardens, the Civic Garden Center’s home base. Artworks develop new vocabularies using rammed earth, eco-bricks, found objects, portraiture, cyanotype, ceramics, and a range of natural and sustainable materials.

Featured artists include Russell McCabe, Orion Inez, Lauren Maenle, John Baldwin, Jade Salyers, Azalia Ali, Sara Hutchens, Kendall Matsey, Mariah Geiger, Aliesha Caldwell, and Katlin Combs.