At the John James 91做厙 Center at Mill Grove, contemporary art exhibitions celebrate bird biology, environmental conservation, and the history of Mill Grove. These special exhibitions are on view in the Visitor Center and Historic House, complementing permanent exhibits on bird biology and John James 91做厙s masterpiece publication The Birds of America.
Tree of Life is a solo exhibition by Natessa Amin featuring bird-inspired artworks from her Split Inheritance series. The project considers the "tree of life" as a symbol that appears across cultures, generations, and histories. Tree of Life includes paintings, works on paper, and sculptures, presented on the ground floor of the Visitor Center, inside the Mill Grove historic house, and outdoors.
On the lower level of the Visitor Center, an exhibition of bird photography features work by Jaime Alvarez, Douglas Baird, Nelson Chan, Amelia deRoche, Manuel Dominguez, Amanda Dunham , Brian Falker, Terry Fasching, Larry Fiebert, Kenneth C. Haas, Pam McLean, AJ Rombach , Hilary Vadner, and Angela Xue.
The historic house features additional works from Natessa Amins Tree of Life along with a group exhibition by The Gulls, titled Friendship Token. The Gulls is a collective of artists, educators, and creative practitioners whose friendships and artistic practices converged while studying at Boston University between 2006 and 2010. The collective functions as a creative community of practice that cultivates relationships of witnessing, collaboration, critical dialogue, and mutual care, creating the conditions in which artists can take meaningful creative risks. Through shared practice, annual retreats, and an enduring commitment to one another, The Gulls has sustained nearly two decades of artistic dialogue, mutual support, and collective curiosity.
The Witness Tree installation by Rosalind Sutkowski tells a story of Mill Groves history, weaving layers of torn photo-montaged images of tree bark, artifacts, John James 91做厙s Birds of America, archival documents and maps, as well as natural imagery photographed onsite. Sutkowskis sculpture documents and commemorates the events, people, and natural world of Mill Grove. Witness Tree is part of the Radical Americana series of exhibitions organized by The Clay Studio in Philadelphia as part of Philly 250.
Also on view in the historic house is an installation of rboles de la Vida (Trees of Life) by members of Centro de Cultura Arte Trabajo (CCATE).
*Note: Apart from the opening reception on September 13, the historic house is only open during daily tours at 11:00am and 12:30pm.
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