Outer Seed Shadow Project
GARDENS AS PLATFORMS FOR IDENTITY, CARE, AND COMMUNITY POWER
Outer Seed Shadow (OSS) Project is a community-driven initiative that uses gardens as sites of cultural expression, knowledge-sharing, and ecological resilience. Founded by artist Juanli Carrión, OSS collaborates with artists and local communities to design and activate gardens that reclaim identity, amplify memory, and foster sustainable futures. These gardens serve not only as living installations, but also as platforms for public programming, intergenerational learning, and collective care.
Cultivating Connections
Taking its name from a concept in plant migration, OSS draws inspiration from regions where seeds reach but rarely grow, a metaphor for underrepresented communities navigating adversity. OSS transforms these margins into spaces of potential by nurturing gardens across neighborhoods and continents. Each project begins with deep community engagement, listening, documenting, designing, and evolves into a long-term hub for food sovereignty, cultural preservation, and environmental stewardship.
From its inaugural garden in Marble Hill, New York, to its international roots in Spain, Sweden, and beyond, OSS gardens have addressed themes such as migration, race, health, colonial legacies, and urban development. Through workshops, oral histories, performances, and partnerships, OSS cultivates spaces where stories can take root, and community can grow stronger, one garden at a time.
Projects
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![OSS #HL (Holma)]()
OSS #HL
This healing garden in Holma, Sweden, was planted with medicinal species chosen by residents to commemorate 25 years of community self-organization. It fosters collective care through shared planting and public programs.
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![OSS #VMS (Vega Media del Segura)]()
OSS #VMS (Vega Media del Segura)
Installed in Murcia, this indoor garden used peppers and grow lights to represent cultural identity. It mapped population and tradition across five local towns.
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![OSS #01 (Manhattan)]()
OSS #01 (Manhattan)
This site-specific project invited Manhattan immigrants to select plants tied to their origins, creating a living sculpture in Duarte Square. It transforms a public plaza into a communal garden, blending plant migration with personal stories.
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![OSS #VLC (Valencia)]()
OSS #VLC (Valencia)
This garden in Valencia featured plants chosen by immigrants, mapped onto La Nau’s cloister. It visualized migration stories through living species and public dialogue.
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![OSS#02 (Brooklyn)]()
OSS#02 (Brooklyn)
Installed in Fort Greene Park, this community garden invited participants to plant species tied to their migration stories. Shaped like a Brooklyn block, it became a living map of cultural memory.
