How to Grow the Cowpea: Survival Strategies from the U.S. South

The artists include Mel Chin, Cecilia Vicuña, Kate Newby, Pallavi Sen, jackie sumell, Mark Menjívar and the Houston-based Sahara Dust Season Collective. Five were commissioned to work with UT scientists who study floodplains, Texas's ancient climate and bird migration. The show is co-curated by the VAC's Melissa Fandos and Erika Mei Chua Holum of The Dock Art Centre in Ireland.

The title comes from a pamphlet by George Washington Carver, who wrote it to help Black farmers in rural Alabama. The exhibition follows his teaching approach, offering entry points that visitors can take up themselves. Saif Azzuz's charcoal mural greets you at the entrance. Menjívar's installation uses bird photographs, night-call recordings and a tally chalkboard. Newby's outdoor sculpture is designed to break down over the run of the show. Sen is planting a heat-resistant garden in the VAC courtyard.

Climate science here comes through artworks, gardens and sound rather than charts and lectures. Much of the work is grounded in UT research data, and some of it keeps changing for as long as the show is up. It suits anyone on campus or in Austin who wants to see how art and research can work together on a local problem.