CONNECT 2025: Art That Transformed the Forest 

This year’s CONNECT at Bernheim was nothing short of spectacular! Thousands gathered around Lake Nevin to celebrate the enchanting collision of art, science, music, and nature. From glowing installations to pulsating beats under the stars, the night was alive with creativity and connection.  

The soundtrack of the night was unforgettable, with powerful performances from DOOM GONG, Future Killer, No Dead Dogs, The Low Glow, and Jameron. Each act brought their own energy, keeping the crowd dancing, swaying, and celebrating until the final note.   

 Guests didn’t just watch, they participated! From dancing alongside Little Elina and Louisville Silent Disco to gazing upward during a jaw-dropping laser light show by Lapis Laser, the night was interactive at every turn.  

This year’s artists pushed the boundaries of imagination, turning Lake Nevin into a glowing, living gallery. From giant spiderweb sculptures and interactive inkblot paintings, to glowing gems, shimmering leaves, and improvised dance performances, the art honored both Bernheim’s forest and the 45th anniversary of our Artist in Residence program. See how each piece reimagined the landscape, inviting visitors to move, pause, and connect with nature in surprising ways. 

• Ambo Dance Theatre – Elemental Tethers 

  Roaming performers tethered together by stretchy red fabric danced across the trail, embodying the tension, release, and flow of ecosystems. Their movements created a living web of human connection and environmental rhythm that guests stumbled upon like a secret ritual.  

• Olivia Arnold – Apollo of the Woods 

  Suspended between towering trees, Olivia’s celestial-inspired installation shimmered in the night sky. Like a portal, it invited visitors to imagine cosmic stories unfolding right at the forest’s edge.  

• Field Guide for Dreamers – Forms of Matter 

  An 8’x8’ cube filled with fog, projections, and sound immersed guests in shifting, ephemeral atmospheres. Our guests lost themselves in mist, light, and ambient music; a meditative moment that blurred the line between natural and imagined worlds.  

• Lizzie Hill – Rootscape 

  Twisting coils of rope created an underground-inspired canopy, mimicking the hidden root systems that connect trees. Guests ducked beneath the woven structure, walking through an otherworldly labyrinth that revealed the unseen networks beneath our feet but above our heads. 

• Shachaf Polakow – Oscillation between the Trees 

  Bernheim field recordings, video, and soundscapes, activated by guest interactions, pulsed with visuals that shifted in real time, creating a meditative environment where guests could slow down and sink into the forest’s rhythm.  

• Beth Reitmeyer – For There Is Always Light & Elemental 

  With glowing orbs and illuminated gems, Beth invited visitors to write hopes, challenges, and treasures on luminous objects, transforming private reflections into a collective constellation of light. Guests left with gems in hand, carrying reminders of what they most valued.  

• Rebecca Web Richards & Stivan Widick – All is Full of Love 

  A sprawling fabric sculpture woven from reclaimed textiles stretched across a beautiful sycamore tree. By day, it was a riot of color; by night, sound-reactive LEDs turned it into a kaleidoscope of light. The work celebrated sustainability, play, and the beauty of interconnectedness.  

• Rebecca Rose – The Collective Conscious Inkblot 

  Visitors co-created a massive inkblot artwork, choosing colors and leaving their mark. Each addition contributed to a shared painting, later displayed and digitally shared, a collective artwork reflecting the energy of CONNECT itself.  

• Christa Twaa – Ayaba Nya 

As a living embodiment of a Yoruba forest spirit, Christa Twaa became a guardian of Lake Nevin. With vine-adorned hair and glowing presence, the TWAA Collaborative led guests across bridges and into stories of liberation, grief, joy, and rebirth, reminding all that the forest is alive and listening.  

• Tara Midkiff – Native Leaf Twinkle 
  Towering pillars of cut-out native leaf patterns lit from within created sparkling prisms of color. As guests walked around, each angle revealed new glowing silhouettes of the forest’s native trees, highlighting the quiet brilliance of Kentucky’s biodiversity.  

• Marty Wourms – Treena and Whooo 

  A whimsical sculpture paired tree-like forms with owl figures, evoking forest guardians who watched over the night. Both playful and reverent, it delighted younger visitors while reminding older ones of nature’s enduring presence.  

• Dr. Mark K. Wourms – We Are Universal 

  With a cosmic perspective, this work invited visitors to contemplate their place in the universe. Rooted in science and wonder, it bridged earth and sky, echoing Bernheim’s mission to spark awe through nature and discovery.  

• 2025 Environmental Artist in Residence Emanuel Zarate – Radar 

  Inspired by the endangered Northern Long-eared Bat, which raises its young beneath peeling bark and hibernates in Kentucky’s caves and mines, Radar brings awareness to this fragile species. Debuted at CONNECT, the sculpture glows with UV-sensitive paint after dark and features wings that shift with the wind, making it a luminous, kinetic landmark along Lake Nevin and now established in Bernheim’s public art collection. 

Together, these works didn’t just decorate the trail; they transformed it into an unfolding story where every turn offered a new way to connect with nature, art, and each other.  

Beyond the fun, CONNECT is about celebrating the natural world in unexpected ways. Every ticket purchased supports Bernheim’s mission as a nonprofit, helping protect our 16,000+ acres and inspire future generations to care for our planet.  

Until next year — thank you for making CONNECT 2025 unforgettable!