Forest for Change
Project
Forest for Change
Partners
London Design Biennale
Es Devlin
Scape Design
Scotscape
Beautiful Wonder
Brian Eno
John Cullen Lighting
Autograph Sound
Atelier One
The Campaign
As part of the third London Design Biennale, Project Everyone collaborated with artist Es Devlin, Artistic Director of LDB, to take over the iconic courtyard space at the centre of Somerset House with a beautiful exhibit that would both capture visitors’ imaginations and bring to life the transformative power of the Global Goals.
Forest for Change was designed to take visitors on a journey of discovery where they would not only learn about the ambitious plan of the Goals, but feel inspired to add their own voice to a call for urgent action for people and planet.
The Approach
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This forest of 400 trees, from 23 varieties typical of those found across the UK and Northern Europe, created a magnificent green landscape and centrepiece in Somerset House’s courtyard. The Pavilion offered a journey of discovery and interaction, with a Global Goals installation in the central clearing of the forest. The forest brought to life the solutions needed to achieve the Goals, and gathered voices from across society to create a powerful collective message for change in an effort to combat climate change, reduce inequality and include everyone in the Covid-19 recovery.
The UN Global Goals offer us clear ways to engage and alter our behaviour and it is our hope that an interaction with the Goals in the forest will be transformative."
The Delivery
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After over a year of art and culture being kept behind closed doors, in June 2021 Forest for Change welcomed 28,000 visitors to explore the Global Goals in person and over 1,000 people shared their message for change.
Day and night, the forest came alive with musical performances, panels and discussions – with a diverse line up that included Celeste, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Amika George and Ini Archibong.
Forest for Change also welcomed London school children for an art lesson, a talk on the trees, and the launch of the Royal Foundation’s Generation Earthshot.
Other notable visitors include Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Lord Ahmad, , Lolly Adefope, Laura Bailey, Lorraine Candy, Lily Cole, Mariella Frostrup, Thomas Heatherwick, Tristram Hunt, Arizona Muse, Adar Poonawalla, Danny Sriskandarajah, Kae Tempest, and Sandi Toksvig.
The forest garnered wide-spread media coverage with articles in over 20 national and international outlets, including The Financial Times, Evening Standard, CNN, Forbes, Time Out and Reuters, as well as broadcast coverage on BBC, ITV and Sky, Times Radio and BBC Radio 4’s Front Row.
We also saw art/design/culture world pieces and reviews in Monocle, Time Out, Design Week, Dezeen, Londonist, Designboom, and The Art Newspaper.