Julija Pociute: Caressing Hands video still.
The Gifts from the Sentient Forest (GSF) exhibi tion is the outcome of an international, interdisciplinary arts-based research project between the University of Lapland’s Arctic Centre, Finland and University of Notre Dame, Australia with support from the Kone Foundation. Exhibition based on the project is open at Villa Vinkkeli during the summer.
In Northern Finland the widespread clearing of old trees has degraded boreal ecosystems. Disrupting the diverse relationships between people and trees, climate change will continue to alter the country’s northernmost forests.
In response to these ecological realities, the project has developed new modes of interacting with Northern Finland’s trees and appreciating the cultural legacies surrounding them. At the centre of the work is forest sentience, a concept that highlights the abilities of trees to sense, communicate, behave, learn, and remember. Throughout the project, forest sentience provides a basis for deepening our appreciation of the arboreal world through art, film, music, poetry, prose, performance, and other creative responses.
Project Coordinators are Dr Francis Joy and Dr John C. Ryan (Arctic Centre, University of Lapland). 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: www.sentientforestproject.com
Gifts from the Sentient Forest
10.6.–1.8.2025
tue–fri 12–17 sat-sun 12-16
Villa Vinkkeli Art gallery
Address: Vuopajantie 15, 96400 Rovaniemi
en.villavinkkeli.com
Welcome to the opening of the exhibition on Tuesday 10th of June at 6 pm!