Read here how Ackroyd and Harvey’s project Beuys’ Acorns inspires children to be interested in art and oak trees. Here they have been working with artist Johann Don Daniel as a pilot project at Whitefriars School in King’s Lynn.
British artists Ackroyd and Harvey have been doing a wonderful project for years now, called Beuys’ Acorns. https://www.ackroydandharvey.com/beuys-acorns-2/.
Now it is on the move, and in the course of 7 trees coming to be planted in King’s Lynn, we have been enthusing children from a local school with an art project. The whole project connects with GroundWork’s long-term interest in trees, especially greening the town.
Joseph Beuys and 7000 oaks
From 1982 Joseph Beuys (1921-1986), renowned German artist and environmental activist planted 7000 oak trees in Kassel, Germany as part of Documenta 7. Each one was signalled by a basalt slab alongside it. (Documenta being an international contemporary art exhibition held every 5 years). For him this was a radical action and a statement about the imperative to bring the green environment into cities which was both political and environmental. He had been one of the founders of the Green political movement in Germany and internationally.
‘At the heart of Beuys’ artistic vision was a transformation of consciousness, where the biosphere, as a healthy, biological and essential atmosphere would be consistent with human and multi-species needs.’Ackroyd & Harvey
In 2007, Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey collected hundreds of acorns from the mature Kassel trees, and have nurtured over 150 thriving oak trees as a result. These have been exhibited regularly all over Europe as part of an ongoing exhibiting programme, accompanied by environmental discussion and activism. Most recently in 2021 they had a show at Tate Modern.
King’s Lynn is among Beuys’ Acorns permanent sites
Now the trees are becoming too large to move about for exhibits, and in respect of restrictions about the movement of oak trees, have to be planted permanently. The artists say:
We’d like to discuss the possibilities of planting groups of seven trees in a circle. We’re aiming to create many circles of Beuys’ Acorns trees in boroughs, towns and cities across the UK. …… It gives a clear visual identity and linking motif to Beuys’ Acorns across the country, and a sense of time being circular rather than linear. This may have to happen on the edge of the town, in a park or common-land. The oak is sensitive in the early years, particularly in polluted town and city settings.
So, thanks to support and encouragement from Councillor Michael de Whalley, King’s Lynn has committed to planting 7 trees. We will be setting up our own Beuys’s Acorns programme as part of the exciting national network, which includes the Eden project in Cornwall.The trees arrived in January and are now waiting to be planted in the Autumn. Hardings Pits Association, a vibrant local community organisation, are looking after them. Eventually they will be a star attraction as part of a Town Green and Community Orchard.
Whitefriars Primary Academy
Over the summer, 2024, we just could not wait to start getting to know the trees and embracing their presence. So, thanks to an Arts Council grant, the gallery did a lovely project with Whitefriars Church of England Primary Academy, which is based very near Hardings Pits where the trees will be planted. The idea is that the children from this school will adopt the trees as tree champions.
Artist Johann Don-Daniel led the project and prepared the children for its entire context, teaching them about Joseph Beuys first of all. Whitefriars is a wonderful school, where each class is named after a tree species and they already engage in Forest School practice. We worked with Year 3 children from 2 classes. They were just so knowledgeable and open to ideas and talented – a complete joy. The teachers joined in with enthusiasm and generosity.
Over just a day, Johann briefed the children about Joseph Beuys and his entire tree project in Germany. They really got it. The children then made a sequence of works, responding to the sounds of trees in their environment, making drawings and thinking about their physical presence.
They ended by working in groups, making sculptural installations, using wire and paper to represent trees in the wider environment. What was beautiful about the whole project, was that it carried throughout, the idea that trees were art and could be represented in ways that evoke atmosphere, but are not literal. The children’s imaginations led them to create all kinds of stories as they collaborated.They completely understood the whole project and its context. What was charming was that one group created a tree-playground, with a figure of Joseph Beuys riding on a zip-wire.
Above, children from Whitefriars Church of England Primary Academy with teacher Sarah Craig, Artist, Johann Don-Daniel, the Mayor of King’s Lynn, Councillor Paul Bland, and Green party Councillor Pallavi Devulapalli. Pics courtesy Lynn News
Seahenge conections
The next stage will be to plant the oak trees and fund a longer-term environmental project with them, that involves the wider community in and around Hardings Pits Doorstep Green. But what is also exciting is that there is a deeper historical context we can connect with. King’s Lynn Museum has a gallery devoted to Seahenge – a 4000 year old ring of prehistoric tree-roots which appeared off the coast at Holme Beach in 1998. We are very much looking forward to figuring out how we can deepen this connection. Especially as recent research by Dr David Nance of Aberdeen University suggests that Seahenge might have been part of a ritual intending to propitiate the forces of climate change during a period of bitterly cold weather. More of this to come!
Veronica Sekules
