Homes & Habitats

March 29 – September 28, 2025

Experience nature through the eyes of seven regional artists, who have created large-scale installations inspired by ecosystems and located in iconic areas throughout the Garden. Many works feature interactive and educational elements, and all pieces are designed to spark conversations and challenge notions about how we interact with the natural world as well as one another. Homes & Habitats is included with Garden admission; free for members. 

Experimente la naturaleza a través de los ojos de siete artistas regionales, que han creado instalaciones a gran escala inspiradas en ecosistemas y situadas en zonas emblemáticas de todo el Jardín. Muchas obras presentan elementos interactivos y educativos, y todas están diseñadas para suscitar conversaciones y cuestionar las nociones sobre cómo interactuamos con el mundo natural y entre nosotros.

CONVERSATION WITH BEES
by Heather Beardsley

Location: Grace Arents Garden 

Drawn from the Celtic folklore tradition of ‘telling the bees’ in a local hive when there is news, such as a birth or death in the family, this piece by Heather Beardsley invites visitors to make conversation with the native bees of the Garden. The microphone inside the beehive is connected to speakers fixed onto nearby ‘bee hotels’. As the next generation of bees gestates, people can share their experiences with them, fostering a unique avenue for interspecies empathy and communication.

 

Conversación con Abejas

ARTISTA: Heather Beardsley

INTERPRETACIÓN: “Conversación con Abejas” se inspira en la tradición del folclore celta de «contar noticias a las abejas» a una colmena local cuando hay novedades como un nacimiento o una muerte en la familia. Esta pieza invita a los visitantes a entablar conversación con las abejas autóctonas del Jardín.

Heather Beardsley creates mixed-media projects in response to environmental issues. Beardsley received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2015. She spent 2016 in Vienna, Austria on a Fulbright Scholarship for Installation Art, and in 2017, she was awarded a year-long Braunschweig Projects International Artist Fellowship by the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony, Germany.

Other residencies include KulturKontakt Austria in Vienna; Shangyuan Art Museum in Beijing, China; IZOLYATSIA in Kyiv, Ukraine; and La Box in Bourges, France. Beardsley has shown her work both nationally and internationally, including group exhibitions at Science Gallery Dublin, Museo del Traje in Madrid and Museum Rijswijk in the Netherlands. In 2023 she had her first solo museum exhibition at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, VA, while in summer 2024 she will have a solo exhibition at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art and an art residency at Pier2 Art Center in Taiwan.

FOUR FRIENDS
by Bethany Allen

Location: West Island

All beings share food, air, water, space and spirit. The sculptural pieces in this series by Bethany Allen showcase four of our native plant neighbors: Elderberry, Serviceberry, Sochan, and Swamp Milkweed. Each species has many names but these are some of the most common English variety! These four plants call this land their home, are important members of the local ecological community, and serve as significant sources of food and medicine for humans.

As demonstrated by the indigenous peoples of this area, these native edible plants are integral members of a network of care between humans and non-humans. Reference the sculptures and clues to identify the plant represented. If you find them, say hello! If you don’t already know each other, introduce yourself and take a moment to get to know the plant you’ve just met.

 

Cuatro Amigos

ARTISTA: Bethany Allen

INTERPRETACIÓN: “Cuatro Amigos” presenta algunas de nuestras plantas autóctonas vecinas: saúco, baya del servicio, sochan y algodoncillo de los pantanos (cada especie tiene muchos nombres, pero éstos son algunos de los más comunes). Estas cuatro plantas son miembros importantes de la comunidad ecológica local y sirven como fuentes de alimentos, medicinas y/o material de artesanía para los seres humanos.

Bethany Allen is an artist and gardener based in Richmond, Virginia. She works primarily through sculpture, writing, landscape design, gardening, and nursery work. She earned her BFA in Sculpture from VCUarts and, after experimenting in a range of materials and practices, decided to devote herself to working with plants. She now lives north of the city where she tends to a small plot of land and many plants as part of a native nursery project called Seed Pocket Nursery. She works on a range of landscape art and design projects throughout the Richmond area.

INTERWOVEN ECOSYSTEMS
by Matt Lively and Tim Harper

Location: Sydnor Lake

Matt Lively and Tim Harper’s design begins with a whimsical interpretation of a human habitat, in the form of a “skewed” house. The piece uses forced perspective to play with our visual perception of how a 3-D object should appear in space. The skewed house is integrated within a natural habitat, in the form of a Biohaven® floating island wetland.

Constructed from post-consumer recycled material, the island mimics nature to enhance water quality, encourage the growth of microbes critical to the ecosystem, and provides habitat for pollinator species and fish. By exploring the reciprocal relationships between plants, animals, and humans, “Interwoven Ecosystems” highlight the role each of us plays in maintaining the balance of our natural world.

 

Ecosistemas Entrelazados

ARTISTA: Matt Lively and Tim Harper

INTERPRETACIÓN: “Ecosistemas Entrelazados” presenta una divertida casa sesgada integrada en un humedal de isla flotante Biohaven®, que utiliza una perspectiva forzada para desafiar la percepción visual. Construida con materiales reciclados, la isla mejora la calidad del agua, favorece el crecimiento del ecosistema y pone de relieve la interconexión de plantas, animales y seres humanos en el mantenimiento del equilibrio ecológico.

Matt Lively has been working as a professional artist since 1993. Currently based in Richmond, Virginia, he works out of a 140 year old barn studio that keeps him close to family. A recipient of the 2012 Theresa Pollak Award for Excellence in the Arts, Matt has work in collections throughout the world. Matt has taught at VCU, The University of Richmond, and The Visual Art Center in Richmond. He currently teaches at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Studio School.

With a varied professional background including Found Object Kinetic Sculpture, Multimedia Sculpture, Public Art, Graphic Design, and Digital Illustration, Tim Harper has a keen interest in multidisciplinary projects that occupy the space between science and art. His work has been shown throughout the mid-Atlantic, and he has taught kinetic sculpture to children and adults.

 

PLACE
by Dietrich Teschner

Location: Flagler Garden

In Place, Dietrich Teschner merges memory, environment, and technology to prompt reflection on how personal and collective histories are formed and transformed. Sound and spatial design serve as catalysts for expanding our sensory vocabulary, encouraging viewers to consider the boundaries of what we recall, where we presently stand, and how our psyche interacts with our surroundings. By highlighting the interplay of sensory elements, Teschner aims to reveal new ways of perceiving and participating in the moments that define us. Place is designed with memory elements from both the artist’s life and the community’s. To add your memory, visit dietrichteschner.com/place.

 

Lugar

ARTISTA: Dietrich Teschner

INTERPRETACIÓN: “Lugar” fusiona memoria, entorno y tecnología para suscitar la reflexión sobre cómo se forman y transforman las historias personales y colectivas. El sonido y el diseño espacial sirven de catalizadores para ampliar nuestro vocabulario sensorial, animando a los espectadores a considerar los límites de lo que recordamos, dónde nos encontramos actualmente y cómo interactúa nuestra psique con el entorno.

Dietrich Teschner (b. Gloucester, Virginia) studied engineering at the University of Virginia before working in New York as an actor and fabricator. Since returning to Virginia, he has produced multiple award-winning films and has broadened his practice to include digital art and installation. Through these pursuits, Teschner explores how evolving modes of creation shape our understanding of narrative and identity.

THE BAREFOOT CIRCLE
by Alfonso Pérez Acosta

Location: Flagler Garden

The Barefoot Circle by Alfonso Pérez Acosta is a circular rock garden that invites people to take their shoes off and walk barefoot on the rocks, engaging in a playful therapeutic experience very close to a type of reflexology called “Tap Shek”. This installation seeks to create a habitat of hospitality, encouraging a sense of home and belonging in taking off your shoes and getting comfortable in our public Garden.

 

El Círculo de los Pies Descalzos

ARTISTA: Alfonso Pérez Acosta

INTERPRETACIÓN: “El Círculo de los Pies Descalzos” es un jardín circular de rocas que invita a los visitantes a descalzarse para conectar con la tierra de una forma lúdica y terapéutica inspirada en la reflexología. La instalación fomenta el sentido de la hospitalidad, la comodidad, el hogar y la pertenencia en un jardín público.

Alfonso Pérez Acosta is a Colombian artist living and working in Richmond, Virginia. With a formation in Fine Arts and a Master’s in Education, his practice sits at the intersection of art and education, employing multimedia languages in a variety of community-based projects, with a special interest in contemporary drawing and healing practices. Most relevant works include the Settling Tables project with the VMHC, the Together We Rise mural for the Mending Walls project and the creation of Casa Lápiz Art Program for middle school students at the Sacred Heart Center in Richmond. His recent exhibitions include Lengua Twister at Art180 and Healing Circles at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.

Alfonso Pérez Acosta es un artista colombiano que vive y trabaja en Richmond, Virginia. Con formación en Bellas Artes y una Maestría en Educación, su práctica se asienta en la intersección entre arte y educación, empleando lenguajes multimediáticos sobre una variedad de proyectos comunitarios, con especial interés por las prácticas sanación y el dibujo contemporáneo. Entre sus trabajos más relevantes se encuentra el proyecto de Settling Tables con el VMHC, el mural Together We Rise para el proyecto Mending Walls y la creación del programa de arte Casa Lápiz en el Centro Sagrado Corazón, para estudiantes de escuela media en Richmond. Sus exhibiciones mas recientes incluyen Lengua Twister en Art180 y Healing Circles con el Jardín Botánico Lewis Ginter.

THE GARDENERS
by Tori Qualls and Sam Christian

Location: Upper Asian Valley

The Gardeners by Tori Qualls and Sam Christian serves as an allegory for the social health of communities, exploring how society’s well-being is reflected in its treatment of marginalized groups, particularly trans people. The artists argue that, like skilled gardeners, the best societies manage and nurture the ecosystems within them. Gardeners, much like scientists, cultivate their environment while fostering growth. In nature, mushrooms act as forest cultivators, each with a unique role. Some mushrooms exchange nutrients, information, and assistance through the mycelium, helping the entire forest flourish.

Similarly, in the human world, trans and queer individuals often have to build their own support systems from the ground up, as they cannot always rely on existing structures. These networks may be invisible to many, but they significantly improve the world for everyone. Like gardeners tending to their plants, the trans community cares for each other, ensuring everyone has the resources and support needed to grow and thrive. Though their efforts may go unnoticed, they create an environment where all can succeed.

Los Jardineros

ARTISTA: Tori Qualls and Sam Christian

INTERPRETACIÓN: “Los Jardineros” explora cómo el bienestar de la sociedad se refleja en el trato que da a los grupos marginados, especialmente a las personas trans, comparando sus redes de apoyo con los jardineros que nutren los ecosistemas. Los artistas destacan cómo, al igual que las setas en un bosque, las personas trans y queer se cultivan y apoyan mutuamente, creando sistemas invisibles pero vitales que mejoran el mundo para todos.

Tori Qualls is an artist and educator at the Visual Arts Center in Richmond, Virginia. Tori is passionate about both creating and teaching art, especially within the local community. The opportunity to create an installation at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is incredibly exciting, as it offers Tori a chance to bring together passions for nature, sustainability, and accessibility in a living, breathing, public space. Tori's wishes to convey a sense of “perspective” to the visitors through “The Gardeners.”

Sam Christian is a mixed media installation artist focusing on the celebration of black and queer stories, good and bad. Their work talks to their experiences growing up in the south as the grandkid of a quilter, parentified first-born and black body existing within the “American Dream”. These ideas show up in multiple forms of media including Fiber(Quilting), Ceramics and digital design all book-ended with their backgrounds in writing and performance. They write to convey the chaos of queer childhood, they perform with the dreams of my community on my back. Sam explores and celebrates the utility of black art and the need to preserve ones self in the face of adversity. Their work asks every viewer to question their personal ideas of liberation and community care.

THE LOVE NEST
by Aleyah Grimes

Location: Beneath the Klaus Family Tree House

The Love Nest by Aleyah Grimes is an interactive sculpture that features two sleeping egrets cuddling and snoring on a couch, highlighting the intimate bond between partners and the concept of finding a true home within each other. Egrets are very territorial and can be aggressive when protecting their space. They are monogamous creatures and many of them, particularly the Great Egret, are known to mate for life.

This piece not only represents closeness, but security. The ability to feel so safe and comfortable that you let your guard down and drift into a deep sleep in your partner’s embrace. The couch, meanwhile, serves as a metaphorical nest and refuge found in a shared life. Grimes also aims to build on the Egrets’ symbolism as graceful creatures. While their body language and occasional snores are not very refined, their mirrored behaviors shows a touching level of understanding and acceptance.

 

El Nido de Amor

ARTISTA: Aleyah Grimes

INTERPRETACIÓN: “El Nido de Amor” es una escultura interactiva en la que aparecen dos garzas durmiendo en un sofá, simbolizando el vínculo íntimo y la seguridad que se encuentran en una relación amorosa. A través de la naturaleza monógama y territorial de las garzas, la obra explora temas como la cercanía, la seguridad y la comprensión mutua en una vida compartida.

Aleyah Grimes is a Richmond based painter and fiber artist with a BFA in Painting + Printmaking and a minor in Art History from VCU. Using a variety of mediums, mainly tactile, she explores the commonalities and differences between nature, animals, and humans, and how these comparisons shape our perceptions of ourselves and our environment. Often using humor and idioms, she creates whimsical works of art that give power to creatures viewed as weak, softness to the rough, and excitement to the tame. The artist invites the viewer to reflect on this balance as well as their own emotions and find a deeper connection as they immerse themselves in the world around us.

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