Cathedral of the trees is…

A socially engaged arts project…

Is a pilgrimage to peace…

An opportunity to imagine and feel what peace could be…

A space to dream and reimagine…

A community…

A place for reflection…

The possibility of social and environmental change…

Both virtual & physical…

Internal & external…

Solitary & together…

When space is held to explore…

Documented creatively…

Open & welcoming…

This page records the 2022 collaboration with Utopias Bach (scroll down!) and the 2023 invitation (directly below)

Cathedral of the Trees 2023: A Triad of Being

Cathedral of the Trees: A Triad of Being is an experiment in reconnection and communication with the landscape, & more than human. It will comprise a series of five events, spending creative time with the natural world, experiencing three journey packages received through your letterbox. Please sign up to receive the packages, prompts, emails etc from Gaia.

Join Gaia for The Gathering - over ZOOM, Wednesday May 3rd 11:00am - 12.30pm BST

An introduction to Cathedral of the Trees, the Triad of Being & an invitation to start mapping your journey.

Also an opportunity to sign up if you haven’t already done so.

Zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86279842189?pwd=ajhMRVpjbHY5cit0ai9Ja2RPam0wUT09 

If you have any questions please email: cathedralofthetrees@gmail.com

Instagram: @cathedralofthetrees

Cathedral of The Trees and Utopias Bach 2022

In collaboration with Utopias Bach and the award of Utopias Bach seed funding, this experiment explored and considered the following questions using our wildest and widest imaginations.

What could peace be?

Where does peace reside?

What could other names for peace be?

How can peace be made tangible?

The experiment includes two events (virtual & in real life), and a series of micro residencies for members of Utopias Bach.

All outcomes will be documented and shared on the Utopias Bach website & cathedral of the trees Instagram page.

Cathedral of the trees is open to all, all kinds of voices (human and non-human), all kinds of people, all kinds of experiences, all kinds of dreams, all are equally welcomed.

If you see a barrier, speak to Gaia , there will be a way.

Join the Cathedral of The Trees at the 2022 Utopias Bach May Collaboratories

The Blueprint of Peace Explored Through Ma / online (Zoom)

Wednesday 11th May 2022 11am - 12.30pm

Gaia will explain a little more about Cathedral of the Trees and lead an exploration by providing time for individual creative response that will make use of the imaginary, the physical and the liminal space in between the two (the Ma) and encompass the seen and unseen, encouraging participants to consider the concept of what peace could be, where it resides, and how it can be made manifest. Conversation will follow.

If you missed the session, you can take part in your own time - see the recording below.

Peaceful play / outdoor event

Saturday 14th May 2022 all day - at a time and place wherever you choose to be, with posting on Instagram by Gaia between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm

This event will be a creative response in your own space or other outdoor space in collaboration with your body, the land or specifically trees? You may be drawn to working individually, as a group or family. The choice is yours. You do not need to be an artist or have any particular experience or knowledge. This is your invitation to play, to use your wildest imagination and embrace peace through play.

As adults we tend not to play like a child. Children learn from playing but also find a deep sense of themselves through this creative action. I will be inviting you to explore peaceful play in the outdoors. Can you make friends with a tree, a river, an insect? There is no agenda other than being totally absorbed by play.

There are some prompts and ideas that you may wish to use, although you don’t have to. The materials that you use might be found, they might be art materials, your voice, your body. It really is up to you. Just play!

Prompts

·      Dance with a tree.

·      Talk to a flower and write its response.

·      Sing with a bird.

·      Splash in a stream.

·      Draw an imaginary, unseen world that is under a stone, in a tree, at the end of the river.

·      Invite the spirits of place to your picnic.

·      Sculpt with mud.

·      Breath in the air and breath out sound.

·      Daydream of a flight with a butterfly.

·      Make rose petal perfume.

·      Create a collage of how you feel when in nature.

·      Create bark rubbings with wax crayons and paper.

·      Write a poem to a tree or a bird

·      Thank the worms for creating fertile soil and plant a seed.

·      Make a nature-based crown.

·      Make a bee hotel.

·      Draw with a stick.

Please document the process / the outcome (again, anyway you choose is wonderful) and share on social media (especially Instagram) using the following hashtags.

#cathedralofthetrees #utopiasbach #peace #gaiaredgrave #play #conversationswithtrees #nature

I would welcome photos and short films to be sent to the email address below so that we can re-post them to The Cathedral of the Trees Instagram page. Please share your outcomes and experiences with me.

The Email Address: cathedralofthetrees@gmail.com

Relevant Links:

Cathedral of the Trees Project

The experiment with Utopias Bach

The Instagram Page

‘If we can play together, we can live together.’ Cas Holman

# utopiasbach #cathedralofthetrees #peace #gaiaredgrave #experiment #microresidency

Artist Callout: Cathedral of the Trees: Micro Residencies

This 2022 residency is a call to peace to members of Utopias Bach, by Gaia Redgrave, a chance to play, an opportunity to give voice to that which is often unheard.

Gathering materials for the making of talking sticks

In conjunction with Utopias Bach, Gaia Redgrave & Cathedral of the Trees are inviting expressions of interest for 2 micro residencies. The residencies are offered within the membership of Utopias Bach. One further residency will be offered to an external artist who has been selected by Gaia.

Cathedral of the Trees is an expansive project (both physical and virtual) and so, in the spirit of this format, the residencies can be made manifest in a space that you create. There is not a defined Cathedral of the Trees location for you to travel to. The residency can take place anywhere at all e.g. a space that is special to you, under a tree, on the beach, your home or simply in your mind.

The micro residencies

Each artist will receive a talking stick made by Gaia in collaboration with the land & the sea. Your stick will have emerged from either and be waiting to communicate its message through your interaction with it. You will also receive guidelines to connecting to your talking stick, which you can choose to ignore. It is up to you how you respond. You are free to use any format and any material that you are guided to or intuitively settle upon.

Gaia’s talking sticks are created with a hook for which she has previously crocheted the story of the land & sea, however, do not limit yourself to considering it as a crochet hook. Your talking stick is primarily a tool for communication between yourself and the land or sea, nothing more. What happens then is up to you and your collaboration with the unseen / unheard.

You will be asked to document the process / the outcome (again, anyway you choose is wonderful) and share this with Gaia along with your thoughts and feelings about the process to share online. (Instagram / Gaia’s website / Utopias Bach website). You can choose to spend as little or as much time as you choose on your Cathedral of the Trees micro residency however it is requested that you commit to a minimum of 4 hours.

In return, each artist will receive £100 for their time.

Please send your expression of interest to Gaia at the email address below, by 20th March 2022. Any way you choose to express why you wish to be considered for one of the Cathedral of the Trees residencies is fine and creative expressions of interest beyond words are welcomed.

Project Dates:

Deadline for expressions of interest: 20th March 2022

Artists contacted by: 31st March 2022

Talking sticks sent out to artists: 14th April 2022

Deadline for documentation of process to be shared with Gaia: 22nd May 2022

Contact details for expressions of interest & questions:

The Email Address: cathedralofthetrees@gmail.com

Relevant Links:

Cathedral of the Trees Project

The experiment with Utopias Bach

The Instagram Page

All images by Gaia Redgrave