VISITORS CENTER | THE ECOGEOGLYPHIC OBSERVATORY | MING STUDIOS 2024

Artist Statement

Mary K has a 20+ year background in marketing but has been an unpredictable artist much of her life. She is the marketing manager for Snake River Seed Cooperative, a small seed company that works with about 40 seed growers and savers around the Intermountain West. In this work, she’s been able to find a too-rare opportunity to dedicate a fair chunk of life energy and effort to work that feels like it is a positive part of our collective life cycle. She is a pandemic-era gardener, somewhat obsessed with food security and the peace-creating situations that can grow abundantly in gardens. She’s championing an idea that school gardens and community gardens can collaborate.

The Works

A new version of the board game, "New SUM," has been developed this year, inspired by lessons learned from last year’s deconstruction of a popular board game about colonizing land. The board game design this year is her adaptation of Nature’s design, found on a seed head in her yard, with rules based on community play patterns over the past year. The game encourages collaborative play and can be built upon in successive rounds of play, and/or customized for group sessions.

A contrasting piece to add context to the game includes  "Idaho Goose," to open a local window to the history of oppression in board games. It invites participants to map personal connections and historical points, fostering discussion and learning. Books and materials are provided for informed gameplay.

Events include a visual and storytelling session, followed by workshops to reveal mapped sites and discussions. Participants are invited to a Game Night, bringing challenges and goals framed within a seven-generation perspective. Avatars symbolizing challenges are selected, and gameplay rules are shared in a Zine format.

Advanced sessions allow players to deepen their understanding, choosing to embody challenges or symbolically represent them. The game encourages long-term thinking–intending to find our lineal indigeneity, draw inspiration from Indigenous cultures, and promote collaboration for the benefit of future generations.

Join the dynamic and help the game along.

Consider some spoilers/answers/opportunities to learn more about what prompted these cards.