Wanås Art & Words Festival: The Forest Sings at Night
Titled The Forest Sings at Night this year’s edition of the Art & Words Festival brings to the unique setting of Wanås Konst writers, artists and musicians to celebrate the night as a unique and fragile host of biodiversity and to reflect on the importance of darkness as an essential condition for the preservation of nocturnal habitats.
The Festival hosts talks, walks, workshops, and live performances in which science, art, and ecology praise darkness. Conceived by Milena Høgsberg, former Artistic Director of Wanås Konst and art and ecology writer Filipa Ramos, the festival combines their mutual interests and expertise in fostering environmental practices, outdoors artistic creations and sound expressions. Stimulating the senses and the intellect, the festival will bring together national and international contributors. Swedish biologist and bestselling author of The Darkness Manifesto, Johan Eklöf, will share his research on the importance of darkness for nocturnal animals. Artist Lea Porsager will host a séance in collaboration with Icelandic musician Hugrún Fjóla Hafsteinsdóttir that proposes an experience of energetic connection between the world’s darkness, the cosmos, and the self. Artist Tue Greenfort will present Dark Lab, a creative workshop that invites participants to experiment with sustainable light, materials, and agriculture. Artist Jana Winderen will give a live performance of rarely heard sounds of wildlife, while artist Katja Aglert will take participants on a sensory forest walk that embraces darkness through more-than-human perspectives.
Wanås Art & Words Festival
The festival explores literature and ideas related to ecology and more-than-human worlds that presently inspire contemporary art practitioners. The festival is composed of both indoor and outdoor activities and intended as a day for all the senses. Stories that shape our relationship with the planet are shared through performances, readings, talks, workshops, and nature experiences. These propose a profound engagement with other species and nature, as well as with forms of situated knowledge, traditions, and each other. Art & Words premiered in 2023 with the title Mycocosm, focusing on fungi and mycelium networks, and continued in 2024 under the title Jellyfish & Deep Dreams, exploring intuitive connections to the sea and animal consciousness.
Curated by: Milena Hoegsberg and Filipa Ramos
Contributors: Katja Aglert, Johan Eklöf, Tue Greenfort, Lea Porsager with Hugrún Fjóla Hafsteinsdóttir and Jana Winderen