FLORILEGIUM. THE MOST MARVELLOUS DITCH AND ROADSIDE FLOWERS.

Inspired by wild gardens and flowers that grow where no one expects them, this workshop invites families to create, imagine and experiment together. Session by session, we will create a world of our own where oddities, myths and the freedom to grow in our own way all have a place.

It used to be that gardeners would say: “If a tree grows crooked… its branches will never grow straight! You have to stake the branches, otherwise the roots can break through the concrete and take over the house.”

They would also say: “This place is full of weeds! You have to pull them up; you can’t let the garden run wild.”

What they did not realise was that it is among the weeds, in the tangled undergrowth, that fairies and the most fantastic insects live and myths are born.  

This workshop celebrates “growing crooked” as a way of growing freely, without constraints and at our own pace. It is about seeing the beauty in things that twist and tangle, stretching our roots out far and embracing our oddities.

For this florilegium, we are looking for the most unusual flowers, with drooping pistils, flowers that rebel against bouquets and flowerpots. “Ditch and roadside” flowers* that endure, spread and grow back when (and where) they are least expected, leaving a wild, voluptuous garden in their wake. *From La rebelión de los Ramos, a songbook by Juan de Salas.

Through drawing, projection and costume, we will embark on impossible botanical expeditions, become enchanting satyrs, witches or giant snails, reverse roles and, ultimately, occupy this topsy-turvy world, this home created by those who imagine it and inhabit it.

Throughout the workshop, we will develop a shared project that will take shape from one session to the next until it becomes a collective creation.

The programme will combine sessions with the artist Blanca Gracia with time to work in the museum classroom, which will be available to families wishing to continue exploring their ideas and developing their pieces independently between sessions.

SESSIONS

• 10 October
• 14 November
• 12 December

This programme is conceived as a shared journey, so priority will be given to families who are able to join us for all the sessions. If places become available as the programme progresses, we will contact people on the waiting list who may still be interested in joining us.

PLEASE NOTE:  If there are younger children or even babies in your family, they are very welcome. We want this to be a space where families can come together and create together. The programme revolves around a creative process involving materials, drawing, paper, cut-outs and other hands-on activities. Everyone can take part in their own way.

BLANCA GRACIA (Madrid, 1989) has an artistic practice spanning drawing, video, installation and set design. Interested in myths, folk narratives and shared imaginaries, she creates spaces where fiction, memory and collective experience intersect.

Her work extends through collaborations with artists from different disciplines, giving rise to projects open to encounter, experimentation and collaborative creation. Her installation Antidotum tarantulae is currently on view on the third floor of Museo CA2M.