Revisiting "Flood": A Volunteer Network for Active Participation in Healthcare

An online conversation about the legacy and ongoing relevance of Flood (1992–1995), a collectively run garden and public art project in Chicago.

In 1992, the artist collective Haha built a hydroponic garden in a storefront on the north side of Chicago as part of the landmark public art exhibition "Culture in Action." Both the garden and the group of twenty to thirty people who volunteered to maintain it became known as Flood.

Envisioned in part as a response to the AIDS crisis, the garden produced vegetables and therapeutic herbs for people living with HIV. For several years, Flood also provided bi-weekly meals for the broader Rogers Park community, as well as educational activities, meeting space, and public events. Information sessions on alternative therapies, horticulture, nutrition, and HIV/AIDS services in Chicago were another important element of Flood’s work. Eroding distinctions between artists, participants, and audiences, Flood continued far beyond the timeframe of "Culture in Action," becoming an important touchstone in the development of what is now called “social practice” art.

Collaboratively organized by Visual AIDS, Haha, and Chicago-based artist and curator John Neff, this online event reflected on the legacy and ongoing relevance of Flood. Haha’s four original members—Richard House, Wendy Jacob, Laurie Palmer, and John Ploof—spoke about how the project grew out of a desire to respond to the HIV/AIDS crisis and to work within their own neighborhood. Caroline O'Boyle and Carla Mayer, members of the Flood collective, also joined the conversation.

As COVID-19 highlights the importance of mutual aid and radically alters our experiences of place and community, Flood provides a case study for thinking about the role of artists and collectives in an epidemic.