Writing towards Plants is a workshop facilitated by author Jennifer Kabat and artist and researcher Alaa Abu Asad, as part of the In the Weeds series taking place at Callie’s in Fall/Winter 2025.

Drawing from different geographical and cultural perspectives, Kabat and Abu Asad are connected by their research into Japanese Knotweed (itadori). This pervasive species was first brought to Europe in the 1820s, only to later be penalized and controlled by the same Western colonial structures that imported it.

Using Japanese Knotweed as a departure point, the workshop will focus on plants considered “weeds” within urban structures and cultural contexts. Together with Kabat and Abu Asad, participants will investigate how language and power shape our understanding of the term “invasive.” Through close observation and reflection, there will be an exploration into what alternative narratives may emerge when reframing our (future) relationships with these often overlooked organisms.

Writing towards Plants opens with a cup of Knotweed tea, setting the tone for an afternoon of shared inquiry. The workshop includes readings by the hosts, discussions, a short neighbourhood walk, and a writing exercise.

Participants will be asked to read a selection of short texts before the workshop, as well as prepare a writing prompt, which will be shared in advance via email.

Alaa Abu Asad is an artist, photographer, and researcher whose work takes the form of images and writing. Language and plants are central themes through which he develops alternative trajectories where values of (re)presentation, translation, viewing, reading, and understanding can come together. He is the author of Wild Plants of Palestine, 2018, and maintains an ongoing research project titled The Dog Chased its Tail to Bite it Off.