A Forest for the Trees is an immersive art show created and directed by visionary artist Glenn Kaino, together with The Atlantic and Superblue, that is designed to inspire audiences to reimagine their relationship with the natural world.
A Forest for the Trees is unlike anything that has come before it, taking visitors on a journey through a surreal forest of magic, music, and wonder—with animatronic performing trees, captivating illusions of fire that visitors can control with their hands, and multi-sensory storytelling, all hidden within a 28,000-square-foot space in downtown Los Angeles. The experience is steeped in histories inspired by the people closest to the forests and nearby neighborhoods: from an immersive interactive fire illusion referencing the controlled burns that are central to Native forest stewardship, to the symbolic resurrection of an iconic 144-year-old tree.
“I have worked my entire career to build the tools and relationships that have allowed me to embark upon a project of this unprecedented scale and ambition, both conceptually and formally,” Kaino said. “Intergenerational problems of this magnitude require new thinking and new models about how we bring together traditional ecological knowledge and advanced technology. It is my hope that this show can provide inspiration into how to connect and contribute to some of the most pressing issues of our time, in a dynamic and exciting way that our audience can take home with them.”
Inspired by The Atlantic’s influential body of work on the natural world, A Forest for the Trees reimagines our relationship to nature through the lens of experiential, time-based art. The immersive show is created and directed by artist Glenn Kaino in collaboration with the producer and musician David Sitek and the Lakota producer Laundi Keepseagle. The show is organized in collaboration with The Atlantic and Superblue.
Title Image: Olivera Tree. Photo by Aaron Mendez.