Abstract

This presentation will explore site-specific work lead by Phoenix-based desert ArtLAB. Informed by history and native ecology, the interdisciplinary team engaged local residents in dialectic performative ecological interventions in urban desert space. Participants engage the environment, confronting the ecological and social realities of place, through the planting of the autochthonous prickly pear cactus. desert ArtLAB has orchestrated the planting of over 150 cactai throughout Phoenix. Monitored over the course a year, the cactai reveal the idiosyncrasies of place, politics, and identity. desert ArtLAB is composed of artists, activists, and social and natural scientists, who’s collaborations apply an interdisciplinary lens to social issues creating spaces for relevant dialogue.

• April Bojorquez 
• Matthew Garcia