A collaborative, international, and interdisciplinary research project between the University of Lapland Arctic Centre, Finland, and the University of Notre Dame, Australia with support from the Kone Foundation, Finland, 'In the Woods' Funding Programme (2024 --2026)

 

Forests make life on Earth possible by nurturing biodiversity, regulating water quality, mitigating climate fluctuations, affording habitats for pollinators, and supplying food, fibre, medicine, shelter, well-being, and other forms of sustenance. As the global population surges past eight billion people, however, more and more of the planet’s natural resources are required to satisfy human needs at the expense of other life forms. Global deforestation and ecosystem degradation continue to accelerate, with an estimated four-hundred million hectares of forests converted to agricultural and other uses since 1990. Yet, apart from their ecological importance, old forests have aesthetic, cultural, emotional, and spiritual value because of the powerful capacities that reside within them and that can, through close observation, remind us of the origins of life on Earth. Forests are natural and cultural nexuses. Ancient trees in particular are connected to personal and collective histories and identities. As old forests disappear, the cultural heritage associated with them risks becoming extinct.

 

Project Coordinators are Dr Francis Joy and Dr John C. Ryan. Contributing artists include Annette Arlander, Evgenia Emets, Francis Joy, Satu Kalliokuusi, Zoë Koivu, Lydia Reuhkala, Milja Laine, Samin Lee, Dagmara Masłowska, Hekla Muotka, Mykyta Peregrym, Julija Pociūtė, John C. Ryan, Marjo-Riikka Stenius, and Mira Sunnari.

 

Read more about the project: https://www.sentientforestproject.com/

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Please also come to the opening event on Tuesday 10th of June at 6 pm.