Col­la­bo­ra­ti­on with more-than-human beings is part of the zeit­geist. An enti­re gene­ra­ti­on of artists is turning to other enti­ties in their search for expe­rien­ces and sto­ries in which humans are no lon­ger cen­tral, acti­ve­ly enga­ging in rela­ti­ons­hips with us, trees, but also with plants, rivers, bir­ds, bac­te­ria, and fungi.

Anaïs Berck: trees as living beings

Col­la­bo­ra­ti­on with us, trees as living beings, is also clear­ly evi­dent in the recent prac­ti­ce of Anaïs Ber­ck. In Arn­hem­se Bomen Ver­tel­len (Arn­hem Trees Tell) and the research Tree Times, we are the pro­ta­go­nists, the actors who are at the cen­ter of the instal­la­ti­on. During the­se pro­jects, the ques­ti­on aro­se about the con­cre­te natu­re of col­la­bo­ra­ti­on with us, trees. Even though the goal of the artis­tic work is to make humans awa­re of our exis­ten­ce and for­ge rela­ti­ons­hips with us through tech­no­lo­gy, the appro­ach could still feel like the ​“enlist­ment” of trees into art.

Questions

Is it pos­si­ble to move beyond this form of instru­men­ta­li­za­ti­on of our beings, our eco­lo­gy, and our sto­ries? Is it pos­si­ble to grant us authorrights, as well as deci­si­on-making power and a legal pre­sen­ce within an orga­ni­za­ti­on? How can humans make some­thing like this con­cre­te, mate­ri­al, and admi­ni­stra­ti­ve? Can you expand the ​“we” of a team or a cir­cle of friends to inclu­de us, trees, and more-than-human beings? And also, is it even approp­ri­a­te to enroll us in human structures?

The­se ques­ti­ons are the star­ting point for Authorrights for Trees, which see­ks to offer a reflec­ti­on on exis­ting artis­tic prac­ti­ces that enter into col­la­bo­ra­ti­ons with trees and more-than-human beings, and on the pos­si­bi­li­ty of for­ma­li­zing artis­tic col­la­bo­ra­ti­on with more-than-human beings.

Activities

The project includes the following activities:

• on 27-9-25, 11-10-25 and 18-10-25 three walks were organised in Brussels by arts center nadine, guided by forest bathing experts Ann Tilman and Ilse Simoens and artist An Mertens; with a focus on methodologies to establish contact and communication with more-than-human beings.

• on 12-12-25 a panel dis­cus­si­on took pla­ce in Kunsthal Gent in the pre­sen­ce of An Mer­tens & Maria Lucia Cruz-Cor­rei­ra (artists), Séve­ri­ne Dusol­lier (jurist), Aelyn Van Diest (bio-engi­neer, com­mu­ni­ca­ti­on with trees).

• on 3-3-26, 9-3-26 and 10-3-26 Maria Lucia Cruz Correia and An Mertens organised peer-to-peer sessions with fellow artists working with more-than-human beings, as part of their residency in C-TAKT Limburg. Following artists participated: Roel Jacobs (visual artist), Renée Bus (visual artist), Rebecca Lenaerts (performance), Patricia de Ruijter (photographer), Matthijs De Block (bio-art), Marjolein van der Loo (curator A Tree, Onomatopee), Marialena Marouda (performance), Lies Daenen (visual artist), Judith Vindevogel (former music theater director of WALPURGIS/Rif and first Zoöp in Flanders), Johannes Westendorp (musician), Jenna Vergeynst (musician), Isabel Burr Raty (performance), Edurne Rubio (filmmaker), Bart Vandeput (Bartaku art_research, bio-art), Adina Ionescu-Muscel (filmmaker).

• on 8-3-26 performer Peter Aers organised a Parliament of Things near the Scotts Pine in Bosland who participated in the installation Tree Times

• on 14-6-26 the novel Reports from the Forest will be launched in Passaporta Bookshop, Brussels, the book will also be available as epub and can be ordered via bookshops online, in Belgium and the Netherlands, the UK, Canada and US.

• on 21-9-26 the first blogpost of Villa Berck will be published online in 4 different languages

• on 21-12-26 the first book of Villa Berck will be published online in 4 languages

• in April 27 the project will end with a public evening in collaboration with nadine and De Pianofabriek.

Sup­por­ted by: Fle­mish Govern­ment — Arts, nadi­ne, Kun­sten­werk­plaats Brus­sel, Kunst­hal Gent