Beans & Bodies: Queer Ecology & Drawing Workshop

Join artist-researcher Kirsty Badenoch for an experimental drawing workshop where science, folklore, and queer ecology converge. Explore the fluid connection between our human bodies and the food we eat—specifically, beans. In this unique, hands-on session, we’ll shapeshift through art and storytelling to consider beans as bodies and bodies as beans.

What to Expect

This workshop will guide you on a journey through plant folklore - using storytelling, slow observation and experimental drawing to connect with the plant world. Explore the grounds, develop intuitive and playful drawing techniques and get creative through large scale drawing in the greenhouse. Expect to move, create, and reflect on the interconnectedness of humans as part of nature, in a joyful, welcoming environment.

What You’ll Learn

• How queer ecology and story-telling can deepen our understanding of nature and folklore

• Drawing techniques for connecting with the natural world

• The significance of beans in mythology and ecological connection

What’s Included

• Drawing materials and prompts

• A guided storytelling trail and drawing exercises

• Price includes entrance to explore our gardens and exhibition ‘Into the Seeds of Time’ with artist Vivienne Schandinsky

Who Can Take Part?

Open to all skill levels and anyone curious about queer ecology, folklore, or drawing! No prior drawing experience necessary. This workshop will have a maximum of 15 participants.

This workshop will have a maximum of 15 participants.

About the Host

Kirsty Badenoch is an artist and educator whose work explores fragile landscapes and communities. With a background in landscape architecture, her collaborative projects focus on more-than-human agency. Kirsty is a founder of Stockpile Garden and curator of Microscope, an ecological arts space.

About OmVed Gardens:

OmVed Gardens is a garden, exhibition, events, and learning space in North London dedicated to exploring the connections between food, ecology and creativity for health and climate resilience. We are on a mission to inspire ecological awareness and action, and deepen our understanding of interconnectedness with the natural world.

As a registered Community Interest Company, all our activities prioritise social and ecological objectives. Whether collaborating with chefs, creatives, gardeners, or schools, OmVed Gardens is a hub for education, connection, and action. We aim to inspire individuals and communities to reimagine their role in building a healthier, more resilient world.

We work to increase biodiversity - of species, seeds, food systems, and participation, through regenerative gardening, seed saving, habitat creation, and ecological education. Our space serves as a living example of how urban areas can be transformed into thriving ecosystems that support both human and non-human communities.

Sign up for our monthly newsletter for tips from the garden and kitchen and hear about our upcoming activities:

https://omvedgardens.com/newsletter

Subsidised Tickets: We encourage young people to take part in the group. Participants aged 16-25 can receive a 50% discount on the sessions. To apply, please email events@omvedgardens.com with the event name and a copy of your ID. Discounts are subject to availability.

Refund Policy: Tickets are non-refundable, except in cases where a waiting list exists for the session. If the event is sold out, a refund may be considered if requested up to 10 days prior to the session date. Please write to us for any refund inquiries.