Hastings Museum & Art Gallery unveils new exhibition ‘Plants Make Places’

‘Plants Make Places’, a new exhibition by artist and environmentalist, Laura Ribbons, opens at Hastings Museum & Art Gallery on Saturday 23 August.

This collaborative exhibition, created in partnership with local communities, explores how art can highlight the ongoing climate crisis. Through a range of visual art, ‘Plants Make Places’ invites visitors to think about their relationship with plants and discover how they shape not only our ecological survival but also our sense of place, identity, and belonging. The exhibition encourages us to see nature as both a source of refuge and creative inspiration.

The artist, Laura Ribbons, worked on the exhibition with creative contributions from Ben Chernett, Churchwood Primary Academy, Education Futures Trust, Hollington Primary, The Baird Primary Academy, and The Refugee Buddy Project. Some works have also drawn inspiration from historic slides and herbals in the museum’s collection. 

The exhibition runs until Sunday 1 February 2026 and has been generously supported by public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Cllr Julia Hilton, deputy leader of Hastings Borough Council and lead councillor for Shaping Places, said: “We are delighted to have ‘Plants Make Places’ by Laura Ribbons and members of the community on display at Hastings Museum & Art Gallery and hope lots of people come along to see it.

“This is a timely and thought-provoking exhibition that brings together environmental awareness and community voices. It shows how art can engage us in new ways of thinking about the natural world and each other.”

Laura Ribbons added: "This exhibition has been in the works for a long time and the original idea came from a group exhibition that I put on with a friend in Bristol in 2022 on the subject of art and the climate crisis. It alerted me to the fact that so many people are concerned about the state of the natural world and the climate and yet it can feel hugely overwhelming - we rarely have the space to process it.

“For me, I find a great deal of hope in interacting with other species and plants, it puts everything into perspective. I wanted to create this exhibition to make a space to talk about plants, about how we can better connect with species and each other, but also a space for hope, for grounding, for exploration - I also wanted it to feel and be accessible to as many people as possible. One that felt interactive and encouraged movement and curiosity. 

“It has been a dream to work with Hastings Museum & Art Gallery - they have been so supportive of this project from the start, I could not be more grateful, and I am so excited to share this work with the wider public.”

Find out more about the museum at www.hmag.org.uk.