From the Ground Up presents works by 16 contemporary artists and artist teams who explore diverse technologies, histories of contested spaces, and traditional understandings of nature as they imagine alternative, sustainable futures. Organized for the Armory by curator Irene Georgia Tsatsos, the exhibition bridges familiar distinctions between art and science while exploring practices and traditions that predate contemporary understandings of those disciplines. In this exhibition, artworks, knowledge traditions, and histories converge in space and across time.

From the Ground Up is part of PST ART: Art & Science Collide. Southern California’s landmark arts event, PST ART, returns in September 2024 with more than 60 exhibitions from museums and other institutions across the region, all exploring the intersections of art and science, both past and present. Dozens of cultural, scientific, and community organizations will join the latest edition, PST ART: Art & Science Collide, with exhibitions on subjects ranging from ancient cosmologies to Indigenous sci-fi, and from environmental justice to artificial intelligence. Art & Science Collide will share groundbreaking research, create indelible experiences for the public, and generate new ways of understanding our complex world. PST ART is presented by Getty. For more information about PST ART: Art & Science Collide, please visit: pst.art.

Project Team

Project Support

From the Ground Up: Nurturing Diversity in Hostile Environments is made possible with support from Getty through its PST Art: Art & Science Collide initiative. Lead support for all Armory programs comes from the Perenchio Foundation. Major support for this exhibition is provided by the Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts and the Pasadena Community Foundation. Generous support is provided by Pasadena Art Alliance. This exhibition is also supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.