Bath’s highly acclaimed contemporary arts event, Forest of Imagination, is returning this summer to captivate audiences with its theme of “Assemble in the Forest.”
Image © Morag Myerscough
Running from 14th June to 14th July 2023, the event will see the Assembly Rooms transformed into an immersive celebration of nature and creativity.
Visitors to Forest of Imagination will have the opportunity to explore a variety of imaginative experiences designed to connect them with the natural world.
Both indoor and outdoor spaces within the Assembly Rooms will be turned into art installations, soundscapes, and sculptures.
Attendees can also participate in artist-led workshops and discover a wide range of innovative community projects led by local and international artists, designers, and businesses.
This year’s event features a lineup including:
- Bird Song – A colourful, freestanding welcome pavilion designed by Morag Myerscough, combining placards and activist messages with solar panels, weather vanes and scented planting in a free standing bamboo structure.
- Wondering Ways – a transformation of the historic Ballroom into a living space of meandering paths through tall feathery grasses, designed by Andrew and Nathan Amondson with Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios.
- Beaver Den – a recreation of a beaver lodge beneath the chandelier in the Grand Octagon room by Grant Associates, telling the story of beavers recently being discovered living wild along the River Avon near Bath.
- Tree Room – a reimagination of the Tea Room showcasing the work of Bathscape, National Trust and Rainforest Concern in protecting nature, trees and forests.
- Community Forest Shelter – an innovative timber structure for outdoor workshops designed by Invisible Studio and Charley Brentnall.
- Soundscape – an evocative installation called “It’s Always Ourselves we Find in the Sea” created by Martyn Ware (of Heaven 17 fame), Gabriel Ware, Oscar Blustin and Anna Söderblom.
- Documentation Room & Extraordinary Forest – interactive workshops and exhibitions of sculptures by schoolchildren masterminded by House of Imagination.
- Bath Community Kitchen Forest – a creative, participant led community cookery space.
Dr Penny Hay, Forest of Imagination co-founder, Director of Research at House of Imagination, Reader and Research Fellow at Bath Spa University, said: “For the past ten years, Forest of Imagination has been a truly collaborative event which gives it a unique creative energy – and that very much continues to be the case in 2023.
“At a period of great transition and change for our world, this is a time to collectively and creatively come together to imagine how things can be different in the future.”
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Forest of Imagination is a collaborative effort between Grant Associates, House of Imagination, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, and Bath Spa University, working alongside Bath’s creative, cultural, and educational community.
Image © Perry Harris
Over the past decade, the event has attracted over 60,000 visitors, with more than 100,000 engaging with the arts online.
The continued growth of Forest of Imagination is made possible by the involvement of around 20 local schools, 5 partner universities, and 50 artists and creative professionals each year.
Andrew Grant, Forest of Imagination co-founder and director of Bath-based landscape architects Grant Associates, said: “All around the world people use forests as places to find respite, either individually or together.
“‘Assemble in the Forest’ is an open invitation to come together and celebrate the beauty and biodiversity of Bath and once again to showcase the imagination of our community.
“In addition, it will provide an opportunity to shine a light on the importance of forests across the world and what they mean to us in Bath.”
For 2023, the National Trust invited Forest of Imagination to the Assembly Rooms while the charity uncovers the history of the building, tests and finalises plans for the future and undertakes building work ahead of opening a Georgian experience in 2026.
The theme ‘Assemble in the Forest’ is inspired by the opportunity to link art, nature, and the social life of the city into an experience that takes full advantage of the grand internal rooms and the distinctive outdoor spaces.
More information and a full programme can be found at: www.forestofimagination.com.
