PAST EVENT: This was part of the 2024 programme

In Around a Tree, Más Arte Más Acción presented an artistic public intervention throughout August in the form of a large table around a tree, to encourage dialogue about the interconnections between humans and plants in times of rapid biodiversity loss. 

Along with Colombian environmentalist Brigitte Baptiste, Más Arte Más Acción invited audiences to gather for a closing ritual, connecting to the environment and one another, and lending their voices to the marathon of voices soundscape, which was shared at UN’s Biodiversity COP16 in Colombia in October 2024, and the UN’s Climate COP30 in Brazil in November 2025. 

The Closing Event consisted of two hour-long cycles, each with a ritual and time for conversation and connection. Attendees were able to drop in and out, to listen and explore freely during these cycles. From 12—1pm, the hour long cycle was BSL Interpreted.

Guests were invited to bring a short text in the form of a poem, quote, or story that connects you with the forest within.

Each participant was able to bring their own particular experience as part of nature, no matter how she/he/they think about it, and to combine it with other people’s. Since nobody can access the whole complexity of human/non-human relationships, assembling new rituals may help us all to get an insight of what could be a particular subset of ecological entities that will be summoned by artistic practices each time it is performed. 

Find out more about Más Arte Más Acción here.

This was also accompanied by a BSL Tour in partnership with Deaf Action.

Care considerations: The work spoke openly about the Climate Emergency, and intersecting global crises. The event took place outdoors on a grassy area, with limited stools for seating. This event was BSL interpreted.

Supported by the British Council, EventScotland, and the Colombian Embassy to the United Kingdom. In partnership with Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh with Art Fund support.