re:claim returned to the Philadelphia Fringe Festival for a second year with a site-specific spoken word and musical performance on September 8. Violinist Melinda Rice and poet Heather Bowlan present a piece performed at and inspired by Hansberry Garden, a community garden in southwest Germantown.

Combining poetry and violin with looped effects pedals, improvisation and interaction, this ambient performance is guided by the artists’ experiences in the garden and green space in Northwest, as well as natural and social history, archival documents, and the lived experiences of neighbors and members of the collectively owned Hansberry Garden.

This year’s piece explores the possibilities of community to create resistance and a holistic approach to growth throughout seasons and transitions. Rice and Bowlan’s shared composition asks what a community garden, and specifically this garden in a gentrifying neighborhood, can teach us about the ecosystem of a neighborhood over time.

Thanks to Courtney Kerr for her work with her crew on this documentation.

https://www.hansberrygarden.org https://phillyfringe.org/events/reclaim/