In collaboration with the University of Zurich, We Are AIA presents Botanical Memories: A Performance Series at the Botanical Garden Zurich. Taking place in the summer of 2025, this artistic program features performances, workshops, and lectures exploring both ancient and evolving knowledge of medicinal plants.

Set against the backdrop of the Botanical Garden, the series addresses the loss of traditional medicinal plant knowledge. The site's historical context fosters a dialogue on healing practices beyond Western medicine. The events will look at personal and collective relationships with plants and healing techniques, accessibility to nature, histories of migrations within human and more-than-human, and beyond.

The series invites the public to engage with artistic practices that draw on traditional wisdom, offering an opportunity to explore alternative healing methods and reconnect with nature—healing holistically as individuals within an ecosystem. Organised in collaboration with traditional healers and the Botanical Garden's ethnobotanists, the program encourages an exchange of knowledge and perspectives.

Gesture of Care: Sihr
Saturday, June 28, 2025 / 7:00 PM / 120 minutes
Old Botanical Garden, Talstrasse 71, 8001 Zurich

“Gesture of Care: Sihr” is a multi-sensory performance that immerses the audience in a world of aromatic plants, flowers, and natural materials. Through the senses of smell, touch, sight, and taste, attendees will hear the stories of healers intertwined with themes of love, loss, and our connection to nature.

The performance guides participants through traditional healing rituals and moments of mutual care, allowing them to experience natural masks inspired by the healing tools of women from Lebanon and Switzerland. This work is rooted in research that the artist will conduct during her residency in Switzerland with Pro Helvetia, shedding new light on local traditional witchcraft practices and inviting the public to engage with them firsthand.

As a multidisciplinary artist and performer, Petra Serhal (Born in Beirut, Libanon) creates immersive, multisensory works. Her focus lies in the experiential aspects of performance, with choreography serving as a central means of expression. Recently, she has been exploring olfactory art, investigating the power of scent and nature as tools for identity formation, rootedness, and spatial design.

Credit: Petra Serhal