The Touring Storied Seed Library from Exeter Seed Bank

The Touring Storied Seed Library from Exeter Seed Bank is a unique collection of seeds with a rich history and a living purpose. On loan to Libraries Unlimited, the Touring Storied Seed Library will be exhibited in libraries throughout Devon.

Originally created in 2017 by artist Anne Marie Culhane, the Seed Library suitcase was co-commissioned by Spacex Gallery and Incredible Edible Cranbrook as part of a project supporting the interests of the community of new residents in Cranbrook, near Exeter.

In November 2023, the seed library suitcase was gifted by Anne Marie to Exeter Seed Bank, beginning a new chapter in its journey. Now reimagined as the Touring Storied Seed Library, it will travel between communities, carrying seeds alongside the stories and traditions that surround them. Created by artist, community gardener and co-director of Exeter Seed Bank, Mandy Biscoe, it is an extension of her ongoing artwork and project called the ‘Storied Seed Bank’.

The project invites people to reconnect with the powerful act of saving seeds.

Each seed holds a story of place, climate and care, and by sharing and preserving them, we become part of something both ancient and urgent.

We hope the Touring Storied Seed Library will inspire you to take part in this quiet act of resistance. By saving and sharing seeds in your own area, you can help protect biodiversity, strengthen local resilience, and keep these stories and their diversity alive for future generations.