Prof. Dr. Agata Lisiak speaks at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw

Drawing on her published and ongoing research, Bard College Berlin Migration Studies professor Agata Lisiak gave a lecture titled “Rośliny więzienne: od zielnika Róży Luksemburg po współczesne interwencje artystyczne i aktywistyczne” (Prison Plants: From Rosa Luxemburg’s Herbarium to Contemporary Artistic and Activist Interventions). Engaging with Luxemburg’s political ecology, Lisiak spoke about the life-affirming importance of human interactions with plant life in carceral contexts, from Nelson Mandela’s gardens on Robben Island and at Pollsmoor to Nicole Rose’s prison herbalism.

Lisiak was invited by Diana Lelonek, a visual artist and professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw who explores the relationship between humans and other living beings. Using photography, living matter, and found objects, Lelonek’s work at the intersection of art and science includes the Wasteplants Atlas, a project conducted in landfills and postindustrial fallows. Lisiak’s talk took place in the framework of Lelonek’s Interspecies Workshop at the Department of Artistic Research and Curatorial Studies.

Post Date: 04-14-2026