Visual notes from a conference hosted by Dr Melanie Rose & Laura Eldret (MoreThanPonies) in the New Forest, England. 19/20 September 2024.
“This conference will explores themes of place, people and natural landscapes in relation to access to land, National Parks, Public Art Collections and collective acts of ecological care. It aims to re-examine and radically reposition the role that art can play in this time of climate and nature crisis, moving beyond human-centred meaning and extractive narratives of nature in art and wider cultures of landscapes. Taking place in a treehouse venue within a New Forest woodland this two-day conference will dwell upon the urgent intersections of art and landscapes in a time of ecological crisis. Exploring:
- Histories and future possibilities of place-based art and historic landscape painting in relation to social advocacy for nature preservation.
- Collective and commoning activity as acts of connection, kinship and stewardship.
- Values of National Parks and Art Collections in belonging to publics and fostering care.
- Long Views: climate crisis timelines, landscapes viewed from afar, actions beyond a human life span”
