FULL Workshop Van plant tot icoon
Bring the plants from Labillardière's book back to life
Workshop: From Plant to Icon
In this workshop, historical plants from Syria and the Levant leave the pages of an 18th-century botanical book and return in a new form. The starting point is Icones Plantarum Syriae Rariorum, a rare botanical work by Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière.
Choose an image from this remarkable book and look closely at its forms, lines, leaves, flowers, stems, and distinctive details. What makes the plant visually recognisable? Step by step, these features are translated into a contemporary visual language: your own plant icon.
Under guidance by the workshop leader, you will work with pencil, coloured paper, and collage. Prints from the historical book serve as inspiration, and each participant will receive a Botanical Recordbook made especially for this workshop.
In this creative workshop, you will learn a new perspective on plant illustrations and discover how Syrian flora was once seen, collected and pictured.
For anyone interested in plants, history, and visual storytelling, and curious to discover how a historical botanical plate can be transformed into a powerful image of today. No experience is required, only love for plants and nature.
Early bird discount
Places are limited to 12 participants. Book your ticket before 1 August and receive a discount: pay € 15,- instead of € 25,-. The price includes all materials and a drink. The workshop lasts 4 hours, including a break. Please bring your own lunch if you would like one.
About Donea Almir
Donea Almir is an independent designer and researcher with a background in architecture. Her work explores how plants, landscape, and cultural identity are intertwined. She looks at the forms and meanings of plants, and at how they appear in Syrian crafts, patterns, and decorative forms. She brings these forms back to life by reinterpreting them through a contemporary practice.
Don’t miss our exhibition
After the workshop, you’re welcome to visit Flora Mundi: In Search of Lost Voices. This intimate exhibition features around 20 historic botanical books on non-European plants, including celebrated works by Georg Everhard Rumphius, Maria Sibylla Merian, Mark Catesby and Nikolaus Jacquin. You can also see work by Donea Almir, inspired by Labillardière’s book.