Assemble in The Forest 2023
Once a year, something magical happens in Bath… A part of the city is transformed into a fantastical playground of exploration. This year will be our biggest Forest of Imagination yet. Assemble in The Forest 2023 will be taking over The Assembly Rooms and we need your help!
View our Crowdfunding page here.
Who are we?
Forest of Imagination is an annual participatory contemporary arts event that reimagines familiar spaces, inspiring creativity, fostering community connections, and raises awareness of environmental sustainability. Every aspect of Forest is free and open to all, including a creative learning programme delivered by local organisations in Bath.
Our Story
Forest of Imagination started as a seed of an idea. We wanted to re-imagine urban spaces into places where people come together to explore their community, inviting conversation about the importance of nature and imagination in all of our lives. Celebrating our tenth birthday this year, Forest of Imagination continues to bring families and young people’s curiosity to the forest, each year educating, inspiring, and celebrating.This year, The National Trust has kindly invited Forest of Imagination to develop a unique event as part of their transition plans for the world-famous Assembly Rooms which will reimagine the building as a focus for the community of Bath. We are inspired by the opportunity to link art, nature, and the social life of the city into an experience that takes full advantage of the grand internal rooms and the distinctive outdoor spaces. We want the forest to last forever. We need your donations to cultivate an environment where our trees can take root in our City of Imagination.
Where will the money go?
‘Assemble in the Forest’ is an invitation to come together and celebrate the beauty and biodiversity of Bath and once again to showcase the imagination of our community. In addition it provides an opportunity to shine a light on the importance of forests across the world and what they mean to us in Bath, especially in response to the climate emergency. For this fundraiser, we will be focusing on two aspects of transformation in The Assembly Rooms.
If we reach our goal we will be able to realise these ideas to their full potential:
The Grand Ballroom
The vision for the grandest space in the building, the grand ballroom, is to transform it into an infinite nature walk; using natural and recycled materials to emulate the endless nature that surrounds Bath. We hope to create a unique journey around the space with potential elevated views as well as digital projections and media installations to create a truly immersive experience.
Bath Community Kitchen
This year we are excited to host a brand new community initiative – the Bath Community Kitchen. Its aim is to create a community kitchen that would use food to bring about positive change for vulnerable groups in Bath and surrounding areas. The key idea behind the initiative is in using cookery and sharing food as a therapeutic tool to improve mental and physical wellbeing for local people. We will also build a small growing space outside the venue to enable us to grow some of the fruit and vegetables we will use to make delicious and nutritious meals. This will be a creative, participant-led cookery space. Harnessing the imagination and skills of the people who come to cook.
Rainforest Concern Exhibition
The UK charity Rainforest Concern, which has helped to protect over 5 million acres of threatened forest habitat since it was founded 30 years ago, will have a 5m x 3m display panel at the event featuring stunning photographs of their conservation projects, plus information about how visitors can help support their work. They will be launching a new Forest Twinning project for schools at the event, inviting schools to measure up their land and match it with an equivalent area of rainforest, which will also be highlighted on the display. Funding is needed to cover the cost of the design and printing the display panel.
Find Us Here
https://www.instagram.com/forestofimagination/
https://twitter.com/forestimaginatn
https://www.forestofimagination.org.uk/
Help Us Succeed
You don’t need to give money to help us succeed! Please share this project with anyone you think could support us – on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, via email, telephone, on your blog, or just a chat over the fence! Your generous pledges and sharing will help us realise these ambitions into reality and help to keep the forest free and open for everyone to enjoy!
