Ron Finley: The Gangsta Gardener

DelMonico Books, 2025, hardcover, 72 pages, 20.3 x 27.3 cm

Ron Finley is a visionary designer, horticulturalist and artist, who has changed the perception of concrete spaces using only a seed and a shovel. Known as the "Gangsta Gardener," Finley's transformative work in South Central Los Angeles has redefined what it means to grow food and regenerate communities. His gardening initiatives through the Ron Finley Project reclaim and redesign neglected urban spaces such as abandoned lots, shelters, traffic medians and curb strips. This enables Finley to bring fresh, organic produce to food deserts, while also sparking local and international movements toward food sovereignty and communal reciprocity. This volume chronicles Finley's community work, illuminating how he encourages underserved communities to take charge of their own self-determination, using shovels as an antidote to the oppressive designs of urban infrastructure. Growing out of the Hammer Museum's group exhibition Breath(e): Toward Climate and Social Justice―in collaboration with the Getty's region-wide initiative PST ART―the volume builds on critical and timely questions around climate change and its inescapable intersection with issues of equity and social justice.