About this Event
Join Queens Botanical Garden for the opening of Supremely Unequivocal in Our Commitment to this Moment of Being, an interactive exhibition by Cameron Russell and Mei Tao, created in collaboration with sixty-one young farmer-artists from Harlem Grown.
About the Exhibition:
Supremely Unequivocal in Our Commitment to this Moment of Being is an invitation to co-author with children and the living world.
The exhibition takes its title from poet, parent, and Poetry for the People founder June Jordan’s 1977 essay The Creative Spirit: Children’s Literature, in which she wrote of children as serious, capable, and deeply committed to the present moment.
Inspired by Jordan’s work, Tao and Russell set out to think alongside young people about everything from pressing injustices to astonishing beauty. Through photography, sculpture, performance, poetry, and drawing, the artists and sixty-one young farmer-artists from Harlem Grown explore how we might create a city that is more welcoming to humans, animals, and plants alike.
At the center of the project are play, improvisation, and collaboration—ways of being and creating that allow young people to participate, experiment, and lead.
Throughout the process, the natural world became a collaborator as well. During one afternoon at the farm, rain began to fall and the children leapt from their drawings, tied on pollinator wings, and ran through the garden blowing kisses into the rain. The moment reflects botanist and writer Robin Wall Kimmerer’s invitation to consider our relationship with the earth not as one-sided, but as reciprocal and rooted in care.
Tao, Russell, and the young artists invite visitors of all ages to commit to their own moment of being: play with light, shadow, wind, and sound; create with plants and one another; and consider how care, creativity, and collaboration can shape the environments we share.
About the Artists:
Friends and creative collaborators Mei Tao and Cameron Russell met more than 20 years ago on a fashion set, where—seated on either side of the camera—they connected over a shared appreciation of photography as a powerful tool for collaboration.
For the past five years, Tao and Russell have created art as, for, and with caregivers across the world. Their collaborations have included seed-savers in Italy, teachers in New York State, children migrating across the Americas, domestic workers organizing in Mexico, parents resisting state violence across the United States, and their own children, families, and friends. Their work approaches caregiving as an art form that can be learned, practiced, taught, and aspired to.
This year, Tao and Russell are fellows at Stanford School of Medicine, exploring interdisciplinary efforts to improve caregiving across the lifespan.
Tao’s recent work includes Passing Through, a portfolio exploring the mother’s gaze, opening at Photobook Café Gallery in London in November 2026, and Homecoming, an official selection at the Austin Spotlight Film Festival and New York Indie Shorts Awards.
Russell is the author of How to Make Herself Agreeable to Everyone (Random House, 2024), a political coming-of-age memoir about twenty years spent working and organizing in the fashion industry. Her next book explores care work, gestation, and the climate crisis.
Instagram:
@cameronrussell
@taomeitao
Exhibition made possible with the support of Future Being with special thanks to GoodWorks / Laird and Good Company for supporting the summer workshops.
Location: Visitor & Administration Building
*Not yet a Member? Membership gives you discounts on select programs, year-round FREE garden admission and gift shop purchases, parking passes and discounts, reciprocal admission benefits at over 300 gardens, and more. To become a Member and start enjoying all the benefits, click here: http://queensbotanical.org/membership
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
HEALTH & SAFETY
Reference current health & safety guidelines, found on our website: https://queensbotanical.org/know-before-you-go
REFUND POLICY
Tickets are non-refundable, except in the event of a cancellation by the organizer.
CANCELLATIONS
In the case that the event is cancelled, you will be notified via email and refunded.
COMMUNICATIONS
By purchasing tickets and attending QBG events, you hereby opt in to receiving communications from the Garden. You may receive updates about future QBG events and news through the addresses you provide. If you do not wish to receive future communication, simply click the “unsubscribe” button at the bottom of an email or write to [email protected].
GARDEN ETIQUETTE
QBG staff strives to provide a place of peace, beauty, and safety for the quiet enjoyment of our visitors. QBG is a living museum, a collection of gardens for the study, culture, exhibition, and display of plants. We encourage our visitors to explore, enjoy, and be respectful of our plant collections and to be considerate of fellow guests as well. For more guidelines on garden etiquette: https://queensbotanical.org/etiquette
PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEOGRAPHY
Queens Botanical Garden (QBG) occasionally photographs or films visitors and activities on site to support our mission in promotional media and materials, including print, online, broadcast, and social media. By attending this event, you grant permission to QBG use your likeness in perpetuity, in all forms of print and digital media used to promote, publicize, or advertise the Garden, its activities, and programs. If you do not give QBG permission to take and use your image, you must notify an event organizer or staff when you arrive for this event. QBG is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
GETTING TO QBG
By public transportation, take the number 7 subway line to Main Street, the Long Island Rail Road (Port Washington line) to Main Street/Flushing, or the Q44-SBS or Q20 bus.
For driving directions and more information: https://queensbotanical.org/directions
PARKING
Parking is available year-round during Garden open hours at the Parking Garden, located at 42-80 Crommelin Street, Flushing, NY 11355. For more information: https://queensbotanical.org/directions
ABOUT QBG
QBG is an urban oasis where people, plants and cultures are celebrated through inspiring gardens, innovative educational programs and real-world applications of environmental stewardship. QBG is located on property owned by the City of New York, and its operation is made possible in part by public funds provided through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Queens Borough President, the New York City Council, State elected officials, the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, along with corporate, foundation, and individual supporters. For more information, visit www.queensbotanical.org or call (718) 886-3800.
Event venue & nearby stays
Queens Botanical Garden, 43-50 Main St, New York, United States
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.