Trees in Art – Symbolism and Sustainability - Trees as Memory, Myth, and Future.  

Trees are more than living organisms. They hold stories. They carry myths. They offer shelter, reflection, and inspiration. They remind us of change and resilience, of deep roots and fragile ecosystems.

This international exhibition project invites artists and writers to rediscover the tree as a creative partner — as symbol, metaphor, and a spark for sustainable thinking and poetic imagination.

Invitation to Participate

We welcome visual and literary works dedicated to a single type of tree.

Choose one tree from a list rich in cultural, poetic, and mythological meaning — from Goethe’s ginkgo to Shakespeare’s mulberry, from the oak of the Minnesingers to the Joshua Tree.

Your contribution should be:

• Portrait format (2:3 ratio)

• 300 dpi resolution

• Any medium: painting, drawing, collage, printmaking, photography, digital art, poetry, or experimental forms

Examples of Tree Choices

Ginkgo (Goethe) Linden (folk songs, Müller) Walnut (Hikmet) Willow (Heine) Oak (Hölderlin) Cedar (U2) Tree of Life (Hesse) Redwood / Sequoia (R.E.M., Van Morrison) Chestnut (Gryphius, Eichendorff, Nick Drake) Magnolia (Bachmann, Billie Holiday, Tom Petty, Brittany Howard) Fir / Christmas Tree (Andersen, tradition) Mulberry (Shakespeare) Joshua Tree (U2) 

This diversity invites personal, poetic, ecological, political, or experimental perspectives.

Documentation

The exhibitions will be accompanied by press releases and social media features. This is not a commercial sales show. After the exhibitions, all works will remain with the organizer and be archived — forming a growing, living memory of the project.

Participation Terms

By participating, artists agree that:

• Their work may be published in the context of the exhibitions and documentation (print, online, press, social media).

• The organizer receives the rights to publish the work within this project.

• The submitted work remains permanently with the organizer and will be archived.

• Participation is free of charge.

Organization

Submission deadline: July 31, 2026

Organizer: Lars Schumacher

Email: larsschumacher [at] okok .de

Exhibition Venues

Berlin — in cooperation with Friends of KUNSTdemokratie for interactive cultural processes e.V.  

Hannover / Burgdorf — with the Media House for Art and Culture e.V. In winter 2026, the project will be presented across two physical locations:

Open Tiny (Berlin‑Neukölln)

A former neighborhood kiosk transformed into a micro‑gallery and social meeting point.

Informal, accessible, rooted in DIY culture — ideal for small‑scale exhibitions, participatory formats, and experimental presentations.

Kunstraum Mitte 37 (Hannover / Burgdorf)

An emerging independent art space dedicated to contemporary art, Mail Art, Fluxus‑inspired practices, and community‑focused cultural exchange. Works can be shown both traditionally on the walls and in alternative, process‑oriented arrangements throughout the rooms. Each venue offers wall space for approximately 37 A4‑sized artworks, with additional possibilities for creative spatial installations using tables, shelves, windows, suspended elements, or site‑responsive interventions.

A Personal Invitation

As part of your participation, we warmly encourage you to plant or sow something yourself — a seed, a tree, a small gesture of growth.

Let your artistic contribution be accompanied by a living act of care.

All seed‑ and plant‑related experiences will be documented in the list below.

Global Mail Art and the Poetry of Growth

At the intersection of artistic creation and ecological awakening, the PLANT AND SEED Mail Art initiative stands as a poetic yet powerful act. Initiated by German artist Lars Schumacher, this open call reaches beyond borders, inviting participants across the globe to sow a seed, plant a tree, and create artwork inspired by this living gesture.

Rooted in the Mail Art movement—an art form born from the Fluxus and Dada traditions that prizes accessibility, participation, and non-commercial exchange—the project transforms the simple act of planting into a conceptual catalyst. Each submission becomes a convergence point: the biological and the aesthetic, the physical and the symbolic.

Artists were asked to document their act of planting: the species of seed or tree, the date it was planted, and its geographical coordinates. In response, they created five works in the format of DIN A4 or 20×30 cm—works imagined not in isolation, but as creative extensions of germination itself. These were submitted both digitally and physically, with the physical works explicitly marked “no commercial value”—a gentle yet pointed reminder of the project’s ethos: art as offering, not commodity.

Historically, collage and mail art have long operated on the fringes of institutionalized culture, offering alternative spaces for visual dialogue. But PLANT AND SEED adds an urgent new layer to this legacy—an environmental consciousness that doesn’t preach, but grows. In an era defined by disconnection from nature and accelerating climate crisis, this project celebrates slowness, care, and planetary kinship. It is not just about images on paper; it’s about making art with the earth, not just about it.

The submissions were first showcased in a digital screen exhibition at Kunstmarkt Burgdorf (September 1, 2019), followed by a dedicated studio exhibition in Hannover. But even beyond gallery walls, the project leaves behind invisible installations—planted gestures scattered across the globe. Trees growing in South America, seeds sprouting in Europe, and paper trails of inspiration meandering through postal systems—all now part of a collective archive of attention and action.

In this way, PLANT AND SEED is both artwork and ecosystem. It invites us to recognize that each planted seed is a political gesture, a hope inscribed in soil, and each artwork is a record of that intention. As the climate conversation deepens, projects like this remind us that creative acts, however small, can take root in profound ways—artistically, ecologically, globally.

A Fluxus-Inspired Global Art Project Blossoms in Burgdorf

On the occasion of the KUNSTMARKT in Burgdorf on September 1st, 2019, the PLANT AND SEED project unfolds as a poetic and participatory exhibition in the KUNST SCHAU FENSTER of Petrick Moden, Marktstraße 3. Curated by Burgdorf-based artist Lars Schumacher, this Fluxus-inspired art action brings together 15 international artists from the USA, Canada, Argentina, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Taiwan, Japan, and Germany.

At the heart of the project lies a simple yet profound call: “Plant a tree or seed something beautiful. Create art in the spirit of your planting. Document the plant type, the date, and the coordinates. Send your artistic response.” More than 150 seeds and plants have since been sowed around the globe—each one paired with a creative act born of care, place, and poetic intention.

The contributions range from visual artworks to conceptual gestures, all echoing the core idea of growth, renewal, and interconnectedness. PLANT AND SEED functions as a living social sculpture—an artwork not confined to gallery walls, but rooted in soil and community. The exhibition, freely viewable 24 hours a day through the shopfront showcase, continues until October 3rd, 2019.

Participating artists include: Ali Asker Bal · Beşir Bayar · Sabela Baña · Mirta Caccaro · Susan Gold · Rosa Gravino · Aaron Morgan · Darja Mrdjen · Maya Lopez Muro · Keiichi Nakamura · Niniji · Lars Schumacher · Susanne Schumacher · Sait Toprak · İbrahim Yildiz: The seeds have been planted—both literally and metaphorically. Now, the art grows.