This year’s Botanica offering brings together an amazing crop of local and national artists responding to the theme of Remnant Landscapes – inviting them to create works that consider what the world looked like before us while also imagining the present time from a future perspective. Highlights from this year’s crop include Shattered, an installation designed by City Botanic Gardens staff that makes use of traditional plantings and species to express the evolution of horticulture. You can also catch MAPA duo Heidi Axelsen and Hugo Moline’s evocative Plant Nation, as well as Ross Manning’s sonic wonder Vulgaris.

The return of Botanica sees its up-late sessions getting a bit of a makeover – from Friday to Sunday night, patrons can enjoy live performances, projection artworks and delicious food-truck fare from 5:00 pm, with Friday nights in particular extending the joy until 10:00 pm (for those who want to linger a little longer). The visual feast doesn’t just stop here – the month of May brings a whole host of colour to Brisbane’s public spaces through the Brisbane Canvas and Council’s Indigenous Art Program, as well as more than 190 permanent artworks located throughout the city and surrounding suburbs. The festival is also running in partnership with Museum of Brisbane’s inaugural BRISBANE ART DESIGN (BAD), so it’s safe to say that our city is definitely the place to be this May.

Want to know the best part? Entry to Botanica is totally free – head to the City Botanic Gardens from May 10–19 to catch a glimpse of the magic before it disappears.

This article was created with our good friends at Brisbane City Council.

Image credits
Image of Say it with flowers by Mona Ryder for Botanica 2018 / Photographed by Dave Kan
Image of Bastions of Light by Skunk Control for Botanica 2018 / Photographed by Chelsea Sipthorp
Image of Singing Place by Leah and Duncan King-Smith for Botanica 2018 / Photographed by Dave Kan
Image of Flourish.of.Tents by Georgina Humphries for Botanica 2018 / Photographed by Dave Kan