The TREES project brought its three-year journey to a close with its Final Online Conference on 19 November 2025, gathering almost one hundred participants from across Europe and beyond. The event highlighted how performative arts can communicate environmental issues, strengthen our relationship with nature, and inspire climate-conscious action.
The conference opened with a welcome session and an introduction to the origins and evolution of TREES. Coordinators traced the project’s beginnings to a site-specific performance in Belgrade that addressed the destruction of urban trees—a concept that later expanded into a European collaboration of eight cultural partners. The presentation emphasised how scientific research on trees as living, communicating organisms informed the project’s artistic approach.
A central part of the programme showcased the performances created in each partner country. Through trailers and short presentations, groups from Serbia, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Norway, Germany, and Greece demonstrated how they transformed natural environments into artistic stages. Despite their diversity in form—ranging from physical theatre and dance to music, video art, and storytelling—the performances shared core ideas: reconnecting audiences with nature, exploring ecological crises, and revealing the resilience and symbolism of trees. Working outdoors fundamentally shaped the creative process, encouraging artists to collaborate directly with landscapes and local communities.
Three thematic discussion panels deepened the conversation. Scientists and environmental organisations reflected on the challenges of translating ecological knowledge to the public and highlighted how art can make complex data emotionally accessible. Artists from the project then shared their own insights, discussing the rewards and difficulties of site-specific creation and the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration. The final panel looked ahead, exploring new directions for eco-performing arts and opportunities for continued cooperation beyond TREES.
The conference attracted 87 participants representing over twenty countries, including artists, cultural managers, educators, activists, and environmental experts—demonstrating the project’s wide reach and cross-sectoral relevance. TREES Final Conference_Delivera…
Closing the event, organisers reflected on the value of connecting scientific insight with artistic expression to inspire environmental awareness.
The recording of the conference is available here