Forest of Imagination as an Aesthetic Imaginary
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Open in new tab This paper addresses the themes of the Environmental crisis and Art for Social Change and invites collaboration.
In times of crisis, it is the responsibility of our intergenerational communities as ecological citizens to reimagine ways of being and acting in the world for social and environmental justice. Recent climate reports suggest that we can no longer avoid some of the more disastrous effects of climate change. For us to survive as a species, we need to adapt; this will not be possible without fundamentally reimagining our systems of education.
In the face of the Anthropocene and the more than human world, we must reimagine our approaches to ecological education to ensure hopeful futures alongside our young people, to reimagine the way we learn, to learn how to play together, and to co-create imaginative solutions. We are nature – our ecological and imaginative relationships with the more-than-human world are vital for our future planet. A new aesthetic imaginary, the Forest of Imagination is a living, breathing classroom, inspiring curiosity, and a deeper connection with the natural world.
Forest of Imagination is an annual participatory contemporary arts and architecture event in Bath, UK. Forest of Imagination is free and open to all, with a creative learning programme delivered by a collaborative and multidisciplinary team, reimagining familiar spaces, inspiring creativity, and heightening awareness of nature in response to the ecological emergency and the Anthropocene. Forest of Imagination is a creative ecosystem for art and participation. Spaces in an urban context are reinvented to inspire spontaneous play, unleash imagination, heighten our engagement with nature in the city environment, and shine a light on the importance of local and global forests’ capacity to inspire creativity in everyone.
This long-term research project is an example of civic engagement and innovation extending the partners’ civic role through creative, participatory public engagement, creative, cultural partnerships, and widening participation projects with schools and colleges to generate new ideas and approaches with the educational, creative, and cultural sectors. Forest of Imagination exemplifies an approach to cultural change with creative pedagogy and promotes co-creation and collaboration with a range of diverse partners including schools and cultural centres. We invite everyone to have a conversation about the importance of nature connection and collective imagination in a playful immersive environment for all ages. Together we can find creative solutions as ecological citizens for more sustainable futures.
Penny Hay
Bath Spa University, England
Dr. Penny Hay is an artist, educator and researcher, Professor of Imagination Centre for Cultural and Creative Industries, Reader in Creative Teaching and Learning, Bath Spa University and Founding Director House of Imagination. Signature projects include School Without Walls and Forest of Imagination. Penny’s doctoral research focused on children’s learning identity as artists.
Penny is strand leader for Creative Pedagogy in the Policy, Pedagogy and Practice Research Centre, and co-chair of the eARTh research group focusing on education, arts and the environment. She was recently the co-investigator on an Erasmus+ project Interstice in Europe researching the space between art, children and educators, and artist researcher on the AHRC funded Rethinking Waste Compound13 Project in Mumbai. Penny was awarded an Honorary Fellowship at Arts University Plymouth and a Fellowship in Imagination at the Centre for Future Thinking; she is a National Teaching Fellow and Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching.
