Output details

The Rootless Forest

The Rootless Forest (RF) was an immense waterborne artist-led project by Wheatley-Artist-in-Residence Beth Derbyshire, which resulted in 126 outputs, including 4 downloadable educational programmes. It also provided the research tools for Derbyshire’s second, also waterborne piece, The Ark. Comprised of a moving barge with 10 tonnes of soil, over 100 trees/shrubs and audio/video recordings, it travelled at walking pace along Birmingham Canals and the Black Country, 26 miles in total. The research underpinning this project questioned the role of the public realm as a place of national memory. The project also considered what constitutes “the public” in relation to history, public art, and memorial. In this context, RF set out to explore the spectacle of cultivated landscape and the role of nature in representing social/political values and how it links to national identity. Finally, as its most central research, it sought to bring art to a diverse group of communities often marginalized from the engagement with art. Focusing on two inter-twined communities, the Afghanistan/refugee and the British War Veterans, and using the canal systems of Birmingham/the Black Country, this floating story-telling platform provided an unconventional approach to enable over 1.7m people to encounter this difficult subject matter through the medium of art. The Rootless Forest generated massive discussions in the city and was reported in over 60 press clips (online/print) including the BBC and thisistomorrow. Partners included: The Arts Council England, CFAR/BIAD-BCU, Canal & River Trust, IKON, The New Art Gallery Walsall, Walsall Council, The Afghan Action, The British Legion, Birmingham City Council, Brush Strokes, Canal Boats Birmingham, SAMPAD, Tree Design and Action Group, The Wildlife Trusts, Edible Eastside. This work formed one of the successful outcomes of the wider research project by John Butler, New Models for Linking Artists and their work with diverse communities (See REF 3b).