About M12 Studio’s Black Forest Institute

Over the last several years, over 600,000 acres of land has burned in Colorado wildfires, while other parts of the Americas and Australia have also experienced dramatic increases in forest fire activity. The dry climate coupled with other erratic climatological conditions and human error have produced an unrelenting anxiety that is now commonplace among those living in rural parts of the American West. The Black Forest Institute (BFI) has a focus on opening up a space for community discussion around these topics. The institute and campus is an artwork focused on inviting visitors to develop a deeper understanding of our collective shifting climates and rural futures.

PEDAGOGY

The Black Forest Institute is an outdoor public artwork that operates as an experimental art and forestry school. The institute is conceived as an active knowledge-sharing platform of fireside dialogues and skill sharing events around topics as diverse as: forest fire prevention, personal stories, revegetating in the forest, axe sharpening, the forest as pantry, and skills such as tree felling, tree planting and two-person saw techniques.

MICRO CAMPUS

The campus consists of three primary elements; the woodshed, a rural inspired structure made from rough cut timber, a work bench, and an outdoor fireplace. This space is unique in that it is constructed out of wood harvested from regional burn scar areas. Already burned once by wildfire, the pieces of wood used during the fireside events are odiferous, charred, drip with sap, and resonate as fuel for igniting generative conversations and new intentions for this unprecedented moment.

FIRESIDE DIALOGUES

M12 STUDIO in collaboration with curator Daisy McGowan have programmed discussions through the Black Forest Institute at the Ent Center for the Arts Sculpture Green. Each Fireside Dialogue was opportunity for sharing knowledge, stories, and wisdom about our regional forests, trees, and woodlands. The Black Forest Institute is interested in providing space for constructively addressing the complexities of forest fire and related subjects such as fire impact, rural futures, and global climate awareness.

BACKGROUND AND SUPPORT

The Black Forest Institute project is part of the wide-ranging project The Space(s) Between curated by Donald Fodness, Daisy McGowan and Geoffrey Shamos, and is part of UCCS GOCA's curated Art WithOut Limits Public Sculpture Series. Additional support for this project has been provided by the UCCS Green Action Fund and the CU President's Fund for the Humanities. The project is sited at the Sculpture Lawn at the Ent Center for the Arts, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. The Black Forest Institute is not affiliated with any university and is an auxiliary unit of M12 STUDIO. Project team: Richard Saxton, Trent Segura, George P. Perez, Aaron Treher.