Around the Flor of Inírida

https://www.masartemasaccion.org/

Around a Tree continues in Guainía, Colombia, with Around the Flor of Inírida, celebrating the region’s unique flora as a legacy of COP16. The Flor of Inírida was the official logo of the COP16 in Cali, representing the message of ‘Peace with Nature’. While this plant endemic to Guainía shows flowers that never die, this metaphor of eternal life should leave aside the threat of extinction. Biodiversity loss and climate change happen right here in Guainía, Colombia, far from the places where Conferences of Parties take place.
Even more a reason for “Around a Tree” led by Más Arte Más Acción (MAMA) to co-create this event with botanical expert Mateo Fernandez. along with partners atbc

Rapateacea, maroa flowers, southern starlets or flowers of Inírida – who are they?

This collaboration between science and art asks:

  • What is their history, where, how and with whom do they live?
    What adaptations do they have, what is their shape and structure?
    How do they reproduce and what is their importance?

With: Mateo Fernandez, botanist and expert on the Inírida flower from the University of Oldenburg, Germany; Rubén Dario Carianil-LIWI; Más Arte Más Acción; Miguel Navas; Andrés Vélez; Magally Ortiz-MCG, James Richardson, Sina Ribak, Mateo Suarez, Juan Posada, Universidad del Rosario.

23th of January 2025 / 18:00
DEPARTMENTAL PUBLIC LIBRARY OF INÍRIDA, COMMUNITY MUSEUM of GUAINIA, Colombia

Around a Tree: Connecting People and Plants Through Art and Science

Originally presented by Más Arte Más Acción for Documenta15 in Kassel, Germany, in 2022, Around a Tree brings together art and science to explore humanity’s connection with trees and plants amidst the climate and biodiversity crises.

In 2024, Around a Tree traveled to key international gatherings: starting with the Irish Plant Science Meeting in Cork, the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation meeting in Kigali, the International Botanical Congress in Madrid, and the Edinburgh Art Festival at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Its final stop that year was at COP16 in Cali, Colombia, that featured events at Nature House with partners including Earthrise, the Atrato Guardians, Centro Siembra, and Global Witness. Along the way, soundscapes by Miguel Navas enriched the dialogue among artists, scientists, Indigenous leaders and communities, inspiring collective action to protect biodiversity.

In 2025, Around a Tree continues in Guainía, Colombia, with Around the Flor of Inírida, celebrating the region’s unique flora as a legacy of COP16. The project also explores potential collaborations with the São Paulo Biennial, COP30 in Belém, and beyond, fostering deeper connections between people and plants while emphasizing the urgency of safeguarding our planet’s biodiversity.

Academic, artistic, and scientific collaborators include Andrés Velez, filmmaker; Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, biologists Lucia Lohmann and Juan Posada; Beth Kaplin, conservation scientist, professor, and researcher at the University of Rwanda; Brigitte Baptiste, Colombian cultural landscape ecologist and biodiversity expert; Esteban Cruz, filmmaker; Fernando Arias, co-founder of MAMA and artist; Jonathan Colin, co-founder of MAMA, project coordinator; Louise Hopkins, artist; Mateo Suarez, project manager and artist; Miguel Navas, sound artist; Prof. James Richardson, University College Cork, and Sina Ribak, leaders in botanical science and arts/ecology, respectively; Roy Erkins, Maastricht University; the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Edinburgh Art Festival; SDG Student Hub University of Rwanda; Tuyeni H Mwampamba, a research professor at the Institute of Ecosystems and Sustainability Research. Among others, these collaborators and contributors have enriched the dialogues and interviews and evolving soundscape that are integral to the project.

Around a Tree, led by Más Arte Más Acción (MAMA) Around a Tree partners include: Atrato Guardians, Chocó, Colombia; Centro Siembra, Colombia; Earthrise Studio; Global Witness; and Project Everyone.