Franconia Forest

Franconia Forest has evolved from a pre-existing Miyawaki forest planted at Franconia Sculpture Park in 2016. The project was a collaboration between Forest Maker, Ethan Bryson, and Chinese artist Lu Xu. In bringing together large-scale metal sculpture - line drawings in space - with the planting of a native forest, the project was a meditation on how we can reconcile our urban and technological future with environmental concerns and an appreciation of our heritage.

Franconia Forest will see this dialogue between art and Nature continue in collaboration with artist, Stephanie Lindquist.

Lindquist’s practice draws on the knowledge systems and traditions of indigenous peoples that provide insight into our modern challenges around sustainability and those that have been overlooked by Western culture. With Ethan and Stephanie working together with Nature and art, the hope is that these indigenous voices and teachings can be heard, shared and cherished. Indeed, Franconia Sculpture Park resides on the ancestral Dakota lands of the Wahpekute in Mni Sota Makoce, and in so being is an organization committed to integrating these voices into the projects that take place.

Franconia Forest will be a further boost to biodiversity in the locality, and demonstrates how ecosystem restoration can work in harmony with large-scale public sculpture, as well as bringing communities together. The result is a highly educational and reflective experience: Franconia Forest calls upon visitors to consider their role as stewards of our world, responsible for how we build our homes, our neighborhoods, how we interact with others and how we lead our lives.