Perennial City: Experiments in Urban Gardening

February 3 – December 20, 2026

“The fact that these stories are now being told within the context of an exhibition featuring historic material as well as the presence of contemporary artists (who bring the story to present actions) is also a radically coherent curatorial decision, making clear that the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum’s role today is not that of passive re-teller of past events, but living up to its historic role and continuing to be a vigorous agent for social inclusion and progress. As before, so now.”

Jonathan Bonfiglio, NewCity

Perennial City connects early urban gardening experiments at Hull-House to today’s movements for environmental justice, food access, and land stewardship.

Drawing on rarely seen archival materials alongside new artist commissions, the exhibition reveals how Hull-House helped immigrant and working-class communities at the turn of the twentieth century reclaim unused and industrial land to grow food, sustain cultural traditions, and build healthier urban lives. Hull-House reformers recognized gardening as more than recreation: it was a way to restore agency, resist the pressures of industrialization, and imagine a more humane city.

Installed throughout Hull-House’s historic interiors, the exhibition transforms the museum. Visitors encounter historic photographs and gardener testimonies alongside contemporary artworks. Highlights include a commissioned toile wallpaper by Relativity Textiles; artworks by Carlos Flores and Olly Costello; and an installation produced by Red Line Service artists in a workshop facilitated by Melissa Hilliard Potter.

Together, these works invite visitors to see the garden not simply as green space, but as a regenerative force—one that nurtures health, natural beauty, and collective flourishing across generations. Accompanied by public programs, garden visits, and an exhibition learning guide, Perennial City asks what it means to cultivate a city rooted in care and access to land.

Learn more about Hull-House’s deep histories of urban gardening in this article by historian Nate Ela.

Installation Images

A historic room with ornate wallpaper, large windows, a decorative fireplace, wooden floors, a wooden bench, and paintings on the walls. An open doorway reveals another decorated room with an elaborate cabinet. — Installation views, Perennial City: Experiments in Urban Gardening, March 19 — December 18, 2026. Jane Addams Hull-House Museum. Photography by Robert Chase Heishman for Bob.

A wooden structure labeled Seed Library stands in front of tall windows, with drawers, seed jars, and dried plants displayed on and around it, set in a bright, ornate room with green patterned window panes.

Two tall arched windows with white shutters feature colorful stained glass art panels, with various designs and patterns, allowing sunlight to cast vibrant colors inside a bright gallery room.

A window with colorful, botanical-themed prints in blue, green, and yellow hues, each featuring leaf and plant designs, is displayed in the glass panes, letting sunlight filter through.

A hallway with ornate trim, patterned wallpaper, and wooden floors. Two informational plaques are mounted on either side of a doorway, leading to a room with a chandelier, painting, chairs, and a desk in the background. — Installation view, Perennial City: Experiments in Urban Gardening, March 19 — December 18, 2026. Jane Addams Hull-House Museum. Photography by Robert Chase Heishman for Bob.

A bright room with a white marble fireplace, colorful alphabet-patterned wallpaper, and framed art around a wooden box display above the mantle. Two tall windows with white shutters let in sunlight and show a snowy scene outside.