Garden parties often take clean white linens and cocktail tables as the central figures of their infrastructure. In 1915 just outside of Holworthy Hall, in fact, an article in the Harvard Crimson called on students to “join the biggest and best Garden Party ever attempted.” In this audiovisual media installation in a reusable scaffolding structure, plants are instead treated as the guests of honor rather than the backdrop. With music designed for the enjoyment of plants and light complementing their biotic needs, this temporary installation thinks on what it means to hold a party for a non-human audience: rather than holding a party for people in a garden, the party is held for the garden’s plants.

Long-day plants, that is, plants that enjoy more than 12 hours of daylight to promote blooming and growth, were specified as the guests of honor. Read more about the plants and their night to day attitudes on the installation's website.

Garden Party was part of the 2022 Harvard ARTS FIRST Festival from April 28 to May 1.