City Hall Gallery Showcases Plants of Power Exhibit

Sacramento artists explore the cultural roles of seven plants in a City Hall exhibit curated by Lorena Rodríguez.

Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Botany

Close still-life photograph of dried plant stems and seed pods in a wooden tray beside ceramic bowls of earthy natural pigment powders on pale linen. — Sacramento's City Hall gallery is showing 'Plantas de Poder,' an exhibit by six local artists exploring the cultural histories of seven plants through natural-pigment works, running through Dec. 15. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

The exhibit 'Plantas de Poder: Kinships, Knowledges & Reclamation' is on display at the Robert T. Matsui Gallery at 915 I St. through Dec. 15. Featuring ceramics, printmaking, photography, woodwork and paintings from six Sacramento-based artists, the works use natural pigments and inks derived from plants.

Why it matters

The exhibit examines the cultural histories of plants such as coca, cacao, tobacco and cannabis, offering local audiences a visual look at knowledge systems tied to these species. It also highlights the work of Sacramento artists and the City's Emerging Curator Fellowship program.

The exhibit features works by six Sacramento-based artists exploring seven plants, drawing on a book that compiles three years of research by seven women in Colombia. The extraction does not specify the total number of works on display.

The players

Lorena Rodríguez

Rodríguez is the City of Sacramento's Emerging Curator Fellow who curated the exhibit as part of a year-long fellowship.

City of Sacramento Office of Arts and Culture

The City office administers the Emerging Curator Fellowship under which the exhibit was organized.

The details

Curated by Emerging Curator Fellow Lorena Rodríguez, the exhibit is inspired by the book 'Siete Plantas: Historias de la Gente Sin Nombre'. Admission is free, and the gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

- Nov. 3, 2026: Exhibit opens at the Robert T. Matsui Gallery.
- Dec. 15, 2026: Exhibit closes.

Big Picture

The exhibit is a product of the City of Sacramento's Emerging Curator Fellowship, which supports local curators through a year-long program run by the Office of Arts and Culture. It places a Sacramento-curated, science-adjacent exhibit inside a public municipal building.

Visitors can see the exhibit for free on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Robert T. Matsui Gallery through Dec. 15. The exhibit offers an accessible way to view artwork made with natural plant-based pigments and inks.

The takeaway

The exhibit shows how plants carry layered cultural meanings, from kinship and knowledge to reclamation, and that art can make those histories visible. Visitors who see the works can consider how the plants they encounter daily are tied to traditions far beyond their use.