EARTH ART STUDIO
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Exhibition kits and subject expert talks for free
September 2021 to March 2022
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The City of Dundee is pleased to have initiated and managed the British Council COP26 creative commission 'Trees for Life' project under its Public Art delivery umbrella. As part of the City's manmade and to celebrate the core values of COP26 in terms of sustainability and addressing climate mitigation with the public, Dundee City Council is offering for free of charge a set of exhibition panels and artworks that can be loaned through the project artists to community groups and cultural venues throughout Scotland. 

In addition Scottish based groups can also request to have other activities delivered for their local area. This can include workshops about tree circles and planting,  climate and mapping exercises, climate art, health and well being, SDGs, virtual and/or in person expert talks to learning kits tailored for general, youth, adults to neurodiverse audiences. These will all be available on a request basis and as resources allow.  Groups unable to host exhibition materials are also more than welcome to request online workshops and/or talks.

International audiences outside of Scotland and within the UK are able to request virtual talks and webinars as long as time zones can be accommodated.

Dundee City Council strongly believes that learning is an experience that is best remembered through engagement. By enabling more impactful climate learning processes, more considerate actions for now and into the future can be undertaken by the public in order to mitigate the process of climate change. 

To inquire about learning and exhibition materials for loan and workshops as well as other activities available for your community, please drop a line to the project staff.

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

Slessor Gardens Exhibition
Oct 30, 2021 - January 22, 2022
Dundee City Centre by the V+A and rail station

A selection of photographic panoramas from the Internet of Nature series are present as part of an outdoor exhibition venue.  You can view the panoramas as landscape photographs and learn more about each park at the venue.
 


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The British Council is showcasing nine Creative Climate Commissions, including 'Trees for Life' between 1 November and 7 December 2021 across three City of London locations. The aspiration for this exhibition co-presented by the British Council and the City of London Corporation is to stimulate global conversations about the climate crisis and to inspire transformational change. This London outdoor arts exhibition programme is part of  A Thing of Beauty - a season of events that explores beauty, love and truth, addressing themes of diversity, the environment and sustainability.– global actions developed to provide creative responses and solutions to the climate challenge.


Exhibition dates and venues
  • 1 to 11 November: Paternoster Square, next to St Paul’s Cathedral, London EC4M 7BP
  • 12 to 29 November: Aldgate Square, Aldgate High St, London EC3N 1AF
  • 30 November to 7 December: Guildhall Yard, off Gresham Street, London, EC2V 5AE
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PAST EXHIBITIONS & EVENTS 

DUNDEE COP26
Art projections

Whitehall House, Yeaman Shore, Dundee City Centre
November 2 – 12  5.30 – 7.30pm
 
Ever wondered how art can be part of climate action? See a set of short film clips giving an overview to the power of art, craft and human ingenuity to think about how to make our planet a better place.
 
1/ Film clips by Borda+Donnelly (B+D) showcase views from their recent project ‘Internet of Nature’ – an online platform that allows viewers to explore the rich biodiversity of Dundee’s park system.
 
 2/ From Ethiopia learn how an arts project led by the City of Dundee with a farmer co-operative and charity (ROBA) is enabling rural Ethiopian residents to add much needed tree plantings to help regenerate land while also seeding trees in an image which can be seen from the air, or even space. Once planted, the native trees will spread and grow. In time the artwork will become more defined and visible to satellites as a vibrant addition to the landscape. 
 
3/ From Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Peru – see film clips from Collective Zurciendo el planeta (literally “Darning the planet”) - a Latin American arts collective that believes in mending the planet through craft and thinking about changes one can do at home, which in turn can impact and change our cities. 

‘Trees for Life’ Engagement Days
The Central Library, Dundee
November 3 + 4   
10.30 – 12.30 / 13.30 – 15.30 / 16.00 – 17.30

Come and meet the artist Dora Napolitano 
Zurciendo el planeta (Darning the Planet)  
 
Zurciendo el planeta (Darning the Planet) uses arts projects to help illustrate craft as part of our way to help protect the environment. For Dundee COP26 the Zurciendo el planetacollective are creating an embroidered forest tapestry that responds to work being developed as part of the 'Trees for Life' project. Engage directly with a collective member about tree species found in Latin America that are often seeded elsewhere from Africa to Scotland. Come and participate in the creation of this embroidery that will be part of COP26 Glasgow events. Learn and showcase new craft skills and understand further the importance of both local and foreign flora in helping our local environments thrive.
 
 

Learn more about Dundee City Council's educational and ecological mandates

Education: Supporting learners 
https://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/Supporting_Learners_Policy_Framework_2017_0.pdf

Education: Learning policy
https://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/publication_1199.pdf

Ecological mandates: Sustainable energy and climate action plan
https://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/consultative_draft_secap-lowres.pdf
Who’s behind the project?
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​Trees for Life project has been supported by the British Council’s Creative Commissions 2021 programme.
This was a series of creative commissions exploring climate change through art, science and digital technology for presentation at COP26.

Trees for Life continues (2021 - to present, now under the name 'Living Artworks') as an active artists-community collaboration and illustrates that land rehabilitation doesn’t need to be expensive. We understand the benefit of trees to the land and that people can assist in creating better soils and future-proofing sites from climate issues by planting trees.

Living Artworks and Tree Circles also highlights that sustainability is dependent on the motivation and generosity of citizens, communities, artists, and scientists working together to redefine the challenges of climate change and to foster the next generation with the idea that we can make an impact through climate art and other creative approaches.

Living Artworks and Tree Circles project are co-led by climate design and media artists, Sylvia Grace Borda (Canada) and J.Keith Donnelly (UK) together with partners Ethiopia (ROBA – Rural Organisation for the Betterment of Agro-Pastoralists ) in the UK (Dundee UNESCO City of Design, Dundee City Council, Scotland),  and Canada (Institute for Sustainable Horticulture, Kwantlen Polytechnic University) to creatively respond to global issues of climate change.  ​
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How to cite this project

Borda, S., Donnelly, JK, Watta, H, Aman, G  Bashir, N.   2020.  Living artworks.   Educational Resource [web and print].  Funded by the British Council Creative Climate Commission for COP26.   These materials are under creative commons licence CC By SA. 

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  • Home
  • Trees for Life
    • The Project
    • Creating Living Artworks
    • Satellite Images
    • Tree Nursery
    • Field Notes from ROBA
    • Youth reflections
    • Climate reflections
    • Elder Knowledge
    • Acknowledging Indigenous Rights
    • Oromo tree circle
    • The Lion
    • Adopt a Tree
    • Celebrations
    • What's Next 2023
    • What's Next 2024
    • Symposium
  • TREE CIRCLES
    • Plant Graffiti
    • TREE CIRCLES
    • Contributors
    • Gullele National Botanic Garden
    • Venice Biennale
  • Internet of Nature
    • Internet of Nature
    • COP26
    • City of Dundee
  • Exhibition kits
    • Exhibition kits
    • Resources
    • Tree stories making the news
  • About Us