Library’s ‘plant-based’ exhibit opens Sept. 18 with talk, reception

Plants - as objects of admiration and scientific study and materials for creative expression - are the focus of a new Cornell University Library exhibit, "Plant-Based: Botanical Innovations from Paper to Poison."

"Plant-Based" showcases a variety of documents and artifacts from different cultures and periods, drawn from the library's Rare and Manuscript Collections(RMC), including handmade paper from the Ming Dynasty; woodblocks by Cornellian artist Elfriede Abbe '40; ancient papyrus fragments from Egypt; contemporary artists' books; and herbals from around the world. Plant specimens are also on loan from the Cornell University Insect Collectionand the L.H. Bailey Hortorium Herbarium.

The exhibit combines curator Emily Beran's background in museum work and her personal fascination with plants, further deepened by the library's wealth of botanical resources for scholars and enthusiasts. As a research and instruction librarian for RMC, Beran was also inspired by her teaching collaborations, particularly in the "Art of Horticulture" class taught by Emily Detrick, M.P.S. '16, the Elizabeth Weaver Director of Horticulture at the Cornell Botanic Gardens, who has been bringing her students to RMC since 2019.

"We're really lucky that we work with really incredible professors here at Cornell," Beran said. "I appreciate the fact that we have an opportunity to showcase things that are being used in classes and then use the exhibit as a way to have more conversations about the kind of instruction we're doing."

The exhibit opens Sept. 18 with Detrick's talk, "Everything You Need: Art as the Bridge Between Garden and Page," at 4:30 p.m.in Room 132 of Goldwin Smith Hall. Areception will follow, at 5:30 p.m.in the Hirshland Exhibition Gallery of Carl A. Kroch Library.

Detrick will include insights from the "Art of Horticulture" class and explain how hands-on engagement with the Botanic Gardens, plant-based art, and library and natural history collections nurture a deeper knowledge of and appreciation for the natural world.

"The underlying theme is connecting to the natural world through true art, through gardens, through libraries, and that connection is more valuable than ever right now," Detrick said. "If we're grounded in plants, in the earth, and the garden experience, as well as in the historical references that are available to us through libraries, we can connect with each other and understand the world around us."

For Isabella Colucci '23, a former student of Detrick's, engagement with living plants and their artistic and scientific renderings in the library's collections helped cultivate a greater awareness and appreciation for the botanical world.

"If you're observing things that are in your environment, you're able to start caring for them a little bit more because they become more relevant to you," said Colucci, now a plant collections apprentice for Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

"Plant-Based" will run through August 2026, with related workshops and other public events scheduled in the coming months.

Jose Beduya is a staff writer and editor for Cornell University Library.