Wild Longings

Description

Using immersive performance, the project seeks to educate members of the public about human-caused environmental change to plant diversity in a way that is creative, engaging and inspiring and that ultimately encourages human behaviour changes. The research culminated in the composition of a site specific participatory performance for woodland environments. The project hails the multiplicity of ecosystems, the kinship and camaraderie of migrant and non-migrant species, and the transgender possibilities and potencies of plants and trees. Wild Longings invites audiences into a sensual encounter with the environment that acknowledges death and decay whilst celebrating seduction and survival, diversity and interconnectivity. Impact:Wild Longings is an interdisciplinary PaR project made in collaboration with the Carnegie Institute for Science which uses performance to explore issues surrounding plant ecosystems and conservation and aims to impact human behavior.As part of the project, Hill also ran two artist workshops called UpRoot which were open to the public.Funding:Hill and her company Curious received an Arts Council England Grant of £25,000 (2018-19) a Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment Vision Award of $50,000 (2017-19) and hosting / commissioning fees of £5,000 from Norfolk & Norwich Festival, £3575 from 2 Degrees Festival, £3000 from the City of London and £2000 from Home Live Art.Touring:The piece premiered at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival in May and was shown at the Home Live Art Knotty festival in Hastings in June. The piece was be performed in London in September as part of 2 Degrees after being postponed due to a medical emergency. Bidding:Hill and her producer at Artsadmin are reviewing future bids for UK and international touring.Knowledge Exchange:Hill is collaborating with Dr Sue Rhee, director of the Plant Biology department Carnegie Institution for Science and a leader in emerging fields such as genome annotation, biocuration, bioinformatics, and systems biology.The UK’s National Trust, who maintain a wealth of plants and landscapes with 300 properties have expressed an interest having bespoke versions of Wild Longings made for some of their properties.

Period	10 Oct 2017 → 31 Dec 2020
Held at	Curious, United Kingdom
Degree of Recognition	International