Our program grew out of Sister Forests, an arts project that I started after spending time as an artist-in-residence at Björkö Konstnod (Björkö’s Art Node, or BKN for short) among the islands of Björkö -Arholma.
BKN is located in the northern Stockholm archipelago, and when I was there in 2022, I was struck by how much the Björkö-Arholma landscape reminded me of the Keweenaw. From the forest floor to the rocks rising out of the Åland Sea, the feeling was a juxtaposition of being right at home and very far away. In my art, I have always been interested in how people connect, and I began to wonder how we could do more of that connecting around forests and environmental care.
Sister Forests is part of that wondering. It connects the forests of Björkö-Arholma and the Keweenaw Peninsula. Like “sister cities,” but forest-centered, the project links two forest-based places and the people living among them. One of our core ideas is that environmental stewardship and personal human connection go hand in hand.
Sustainability in Sweden is our first student cohort to be part of the project. Some things I’m excited about for this trip: visiting Uppsala’s Common Garden, where we’ll discuss tree migration and climate change; a community project we’re developing for the small island community of Singö; Swedish guest speakers in art, ecology, and holistic forest care who will share their perspectives with us; and Midsommar on the tiny island of Arholma.
Stay tuned! We’ll have more to share with you next week when we arrive in Sweden.