Reframing Campus Ecologies

Lawns surround us but rarely catch our attention. They might look like natural or neutral backdrops — staging grounds where human activity can unfold. But lawns have a layered history of their own and reflect deeply embedded cultural values. They are the product of colonial mindsets and aesthetic paradigms, outgrowths of scientific agricultural knowledge and modern work practices.  

Visual and material cultures of the Tufts Medford campus help illustrate the role lawns played in the construction of the university’s institutional identities. This exhibition reflects on the lawn within the broader context of campus environments, highlighting both its historical significance and the challenges it poses for human and non-human communities. Through the display of past disruptions and artistic interventions, the show prompts the reimagination of university ecologies.  

Reframing Campus Ecologies is curated by Silvia Bottinelli, Emily Gephart, Patte Loper, and the “University Ecologies and the Question of the Commons” team, in collaboration with Tufts University Art Galleries and Tufts Archival Research Center. The exhibition was designed by Jersey Vargas and generously supported by the Mellon Foundation. Students in the courses Lawns, Monocultures and the Commons, and Introduction Observational Painting have and will continue to contribute to the show over its duration.

Image: Unknown photographer. “Tufts Medford campus,” circa 1893-1987. Hirsh Health Sciences Library Records, UA225.004.001.00001.00123. Tufts Archival Research Center, Medford, MA