By Jenny Zeller
Art fulfills our mission of connecting people to nature in unique and engaging ways that educate and inspire about the beauty and wonder of the natural world. But art also allows us to address sensitive topics and issues, with the power to facilitate and foster social change.
‘Nature is you; find her and you will find yourself.’~ Lucy Azubuike
2020 Artist in Residence Lucy Azubuike is a multi-media artist currently documenting the shapes and forms found in trees as whole and complete works of art, with a quest of documenting #onemilliontreearts from around the globe. Bernheim has proved to be rich with tree art findings nearly everywhere you turn in and anyone that encounters Lucy and learns about her creative practice never see trees the same way again.
Lucy was at Bernheim one year ago, when the wrongful deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor sparked national protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. While in residence, she extracted visual stories from the trees that reflect on the many Black lives continually lost to gun violence.
Bernheim applauds Lucy for discovering and sharing these poignant images that continue to serve as a reminder of how far we haven’t come in addressing America’s racial injustice. Coming soon to the Cull Hollow Loop will be a seated sanctuary that will feature these images as well as many others found along that trail. It will serve as a meditative spot and acquainting space for appreciation of the images nature creates. Stay tuned for more details.
2020 marked the 40th anniversary of Bernheim’s Artist in Residence program and the value that art adds to the natural environment. Established in 1980, this internationally renowned program annually awards artists the opportunity to live and create site-specific work inspired by their total immersion experience at Bernheim. As we enter into our 41st year of the program, we will continue to celebrate the contributions of a program that has allowed our visitors to experience nature in a new way while enhancing awareness of Bernheim’s mission of connecting people with nature.
