Keynote and Collective Action by and with Adrien Missika in Vienna 2021
With his “Unkrautpflege [Weed Care]” project, in 2018 artist Adrien Missika initiated a three-part work that draws our attention to spontaneously growing, often overlooked, vegetation in the urban landscape, thus sharpening our awareness of the city’s biodiversity.
Take a watering can
Fill it with water
Go out on the street
Walk down one way
WATER ALL THIRSTY WEEDS
Refill the can wherever possible
Go on until tired or hungry
With these simple instructions, Misska offers an artistic approach to climate protection and at the same time appeals to each one of us to play an active role.
After explaining his artistic praxis in a keynote address in the MAK Lecture Hall, Missika invited all visitors to devote their full attention to neglected plants along the city’s sidewalks and housefronts and to share their experiences on social media under #unkrautpflege. The starting point was the Wotrubapromenade by the Stubenbrücke, directly behind the MAK.
In context of the VIENNA BIENNALE FOR CHANGE 2021 and the exhibition CLIMATE CARE: Reimagining Shared Planetary Futures on view until 3 October 2021 at the MAK Vienna.
