Daily Archives: December 29, 2023

Monday, January 22, 7:00 pm Eastern – Visions of Panama: Commerce, Culture, and Biodiversity, Online

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What defines contemporary Panama? The Panama Canal, the global trade hub at the crux of North and South America, is just the beginning. Its people, a blend of Indigenous, Spanish, and other diverse ethnic influences, create a unique cultural tapestry. Nature thrives in Panama along two ocean coasts with more than 1,600 islands, two major mountain ranges, and more bird species than the United State and Canada combined.

Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Essdras M. Suarez—a native of Panama— leads a Smithsonian Associates visual tour that explores the country’s interplay of commerce, culture, and biodiversity in images that capture the deep connection between its inhabitants and their environment. Whether a trip to Panama is on your wish list or you’re simply curious about one of the Western Hemisphere’s most culturally and geopolitically critical nations, Suarez offers a personal and powerful picture of his homeland. The webinar will be presented on Zoom on January 22 at 7 pm Eastern. $25 for Smithsonian Associates members, $30 for nonmembers. Register at www.smithsonianassociates.org

Tuesday, January 23, 5:00 am – 6:30 am Eastern (but recorded) – Queer Gardens: How the Past in Queer Gardening Informs the Future

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Gardens are many things. An oasis for nature, a retreat from the outside world, a haven for blooms. But how has the LGBTQI+ community been involved with their design, upkeep and prominence throughout the years? How is queerness seen in the natural world?

As well as being a historian and tour guide, Sheldon K Goodman is also passionate about gardening. He will give three talks looking at queerness in gardens from the work of gardeners, LGBTQI+ led community gardening initiatives in London, historical people such as Virginia Woolf, Reginald Farrer and Sir Francis Bacon and queer ecology’s roots in Michel Foucault’s The History of Sexuality (tr. Robert Hurley, 1978-2021, Pantheon Books) as well as queer gardening in the here and now.

The final session on January 23 is Then and Now: How the Past in Queer Gardening Informs the Future. In the community we often look for traces of ourselves in the past to validate us and inspire in the here and now. Looking back through time, what have the gardens of visionary Derek Jarman or Vita Sackville West told us about our place in history, and their importance in creating gardens? From Smallhythe to Sissinghurst, from the father of the modern rock garden to the platonic relationship that formed Hill Pasture, Sheldon will examine LGBTQIA+ lives from the past and what remains of their gardens they created, their legacies and initiatives today providing a safe space for the community to enhance and work with nature. This Gardens Trust talk is £8 through Eventbrite, or £15.75 for the series. Register HERE Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days (and again a few hours) prior to the start of the first talk, and a link to the recorded session will be sent shortly after each session and will be available for 1 week. Image: Derek Jarman’s garden at Dungeness, ©Marathon CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED