NaturePLACE Collaborative Arts Program
Conexion, mural by Kilia Llano
NaturePLACE Collaborative Arts Program
Formerly known as the Urban Field Station Collaborative Arts Program. NaturePLACE reflects the relationships and collaborations this program inspires, spanning urban to rural communities. PLACE refers to People, Landscapes, Arts, Creativity, Ecologies.
Brought to you by:
USDA Forest Service, The Nature of Cities, and Partners
WHAT WE DO
Build understanding and engagement in social-ecological systems through arts.
Transdisciplinary collaboration between artists, scientists, and land managers.
Curate events and public programs that explore ideas emerging from these collaborations.
2025 Cohort
Amanda Lovelee
New York
BIO
Amanda Lovelee is a civic and environmental artist whose public practice uses empathy and play to shift conversations on shared futures. She is a Stanford Cultural Policy Fellow and co-founder of CAIR Lab. Her work creates joyful, cross-sector collaborations addressing climate and community.
Kilin Reece
Honolulu
BIO
Reece is a Grammy-nominated musician, cultural historian, and master luthier with over 30 years of experience in the restoration and construction of fine acoustic stringed instruments. As founder of the Kealakai Center for Pacific Strings and the Pacific String Museum, Reece has led nationally recognized initiatives dedicated to preserving and advancing the cultural, historical, and ecological narratives embedded in Pacific string traditions. His work has partnered with leading institutions including the Library of Congress, Bishop Museum, the Hawaiʻi State Archives, and the C.F. Martin Guitar Company. Reece is also the originator of the concept of Lutheology—a multidisciplinary approach to understanding how stringed instruments serve as vessels of history, place, and human expression.
Haejin Park
New Haven
BIO
Park is a painter who uses watercolor as a fluid emotional archive. She earned her MFA from Yale University in 2025 and her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2015. Her work has been exhibited at Future Fair and Perrotin Gallery in New York. She was an artist-in-residence at the Mahler & LeWitt Studios and is currently a studio fellow at NXTHVN.
James Everest
Minneapolis
PROJECT
Through community partnerships and collaborative research I will develop a series of site-specific sound + performance installations for outdoor natural site/s along the Mississippi River Gorge that will have both in-person and virtual components for the wider community to participate in and learn to hear the song of the river.
Takuma Itoh
Honolulu
PROJECT
“Symphony of the Hawai’i Forests” is a collaboration including the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW), the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Hālau ʻŌhiʻa, and others to strengthen our pilina (relationships) with each other, our forests, and the arts.
Mark Johnson
Springfield, MA
PROJECT
Community events on belonging and place.
“We try to change the narrative, so instead of just taking, you have to give something first. And not monetarily, but time. So that was the ‘mālama ‘āina’ (caring for the land) day. It set a different tone in them.”
Nalu Andrade, Hawaii
Resident artist 2022-23
Exhibitions and Events
Collaboration between artists, scientists, and natural resource managers is the core of our program and these collaborations can sprout exciting exhibitions and events that creatively engage viewers and participants with the world around them. Check out some of these featured exhibits and events hosted by past NaturePLACE artists below!
"If the Trees Speak to Us, How Will We Reply?" by Nikki Lindt
Virtual Exhibitions at The Nature of Cities
An exhibition exploring the elements through art, science, and sound, Reverberations features more than 30 contributors from various disciplines in a multimedia experience.
A group of 18 artists and activists in Los Angeles’ vibrant Highland Park neighborhood raise awareness of shade as an equity issue in an outdoor public art installation.
Stewardship Salons
Stewardship Salons are collaborative learning spaces that foster a network for voices in natural resources care and stewardship including artists, natural resource managers, and scientists. Stewardship Salons are typically 2-hour, outdoor events that engage participants in experimentation and creative methods not normally a part of their daily work, while exposing them to new knowledge and perspectives. Many of our artists have led Salons, furthering the extent of their collaborative experience in this residency.
Interested in learning more about Stewardship Salons and how they could be implemented in your organization to help integrate new perspectives, and build relationships and individuals capacity in their work? Explore our Stewardship Salon Guide.
Featured Project
The Underground Sound Project by Nikki Lindt
The Underground Sound Project is a collection of underground sound recordings made by artist Nikki Lindt over the course of the past year. They were made in Prospect Park, other parks in the five boroughs of NYC and in rural Cherry Valley, NY. The recordings are made by placing microphones underground, underwater and even inside trees. This soundwalk is open to the public and virtually.
Press for The Underground Sound Project:
Art Spiel: Featured Artist | BKReader: New Prospect Park Exhibit Takes Visitors on a Journey Into What Life Sounds Like … Underground | untapped new york: 16 New Public Art Installations in NYC July 2022 | Here & Now – ‘The Underground Sound Project’ puts an ear to the ground — and underneath | Forbes – A Day Out In Brooklyn: Art + Nature
“We try to change the narrative, so instead of just taking, you have to give something first. And not monetarily, but time. So that was the ‘mālama ‘āina’ (caring for the land) day. It set a different tone in them.”
Nalu Andrade, Hawaii
Resident artist 2022-23
Program Mission
NaturePLACE Collaborative Arts Program is a virtual, community-centered artist residency brought to you by the USDA Forest Service, The Nature of Cities, and local partners. Selected artists engage with natural resource managers and researchers to better understand, represent, and communicate about social-ecological systems through works of art and imagination. The program’s mission began with the intent to promote understanding and engagement with urban ecology through art, and since has extended to include rural and urbanizing areas as well.
Specifically, NaturePLACE seeks to build creative explorations of new knowledge by: (1) Facilitating creative and transdisciplinary collaboration between artists, scientists, and land managers in the creation of new artworks; and (2) Curating events and public engagements that explore ideas that emerge from creative works and collaborations resulting from the program. There are no limits to the types of artistic approaches.
Prior Cohorts
Xavier Cortada
Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest
PROJECT
Work with scientists in creatively engaging the community around the importance of forests (economy, ecosystem services, climate, mental health). Immersed in local forests, they’ll capture their unique observations through an interaction between a piece of paper and elements of the forest itself.
Carolyn Lambert
Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest
PROJECT
A film about the challenges of devoting one’s life’s work to the study of climate change. The film will feature audio recordings of conversations between the filmmaker and Hubbard Brook researchers about the personal and emotional impacts of their work, combined with footage of field work and data collection methods.
Laura Nova
NYC Urban Field Station
PROJECT
What are the criteria of “care” for both humans and trees to become centenarians? How might interspecies communication combat social isolation, particularly in aging populations? By offering NYC elders “Tree Pals,” I plan to document the audio-visual story of these caring interactions to amplify the power of relationships.
Roxane Revon
NYC Urban Field Station
PROJECT
The “Routes” project aims to conduct research into the development of root systems and their socio-economic significance within the urban landscape of New York City to create new subterranean maps that show their intricacy with other urban systems, through drawings and multimedia installations.
James Everest
Minneapolis
PROJECT
Through community partnerships and collaborative research I will develop a series of site-specific sound + performance installations for outdoor natural site/s along the Mississippi River Gorge that will have both in-person and virtual components for the wider community to participate in and learn to hear the song of the river.
William Langford
Detroit
PROJECT
An interdisciplinary project where I write a series of spoken word poems dedicated to sites of natural beauty in Detroit. I will share these poems in these locations via QR codes and other media forms, such as visual displays.
Kate Schaffer
Milwaukee
PROJECT
Mino-akking: A Contribution to Natural History gathers and shares the stories of Milwaukee, those of past and present human and nonhuman residents. These stories will be collected through research, observation, and interviews and then shared with the public in some way (podcast, blog, zines, etc.).
Cesar Almeida
Chicago
PROJECT
“Wild Spirit” is a project merging hip-hop morality and environmental justice, that illustrates a compelling story that speaks to the experiences of inner-city individuals of color who yearn to establish a meaningful connection with the natural world through a cohesive collection of poetry, sound recordings, and beats.
Dirk Joseph
Baltimore
PROJECT
A puppet show that inspires interest and appreciation for urban forests. Scientific information about ecosystems information will be presented through humorous interactions of characters. The show will debut in Baltimore’s Stillmeadow Peace Park and forest before going on to be performed in other locations.
Takuma Itoh
Honolulu
PROJECT
“Symphony of the Hawai’i Forests” is a collaboration including the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW), the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Hālau ʻŌhiʻa, and others to strengthen our pilina (relationships) with each other, our forests, and the arts.
Hector Resto
San Juan, PR
PROJECT
Murals of nature.
Mark Johnson
Springfield, MA
PROJECT
Community events on belonging and place.
Kilia Llano
Santo Domingo, DR
PROJECT
An urban mural exhibit about social and ecological migration and connections.
Michele Brody
New York
PROJECT
2022-2023
Ania Upstill
New York
PROJECT
2022-2023 | Performer. Theatre Maker. Teaching Artist. Clown.
Tommy Cheemou Yang
New York
PROJECT
2022-2023 | Designer, researcher, and educator.
Krystal Mack
Baltimore, MD
PROJECT
2022-2023
Nalu Andrade
Honolulu, HI
PROJECT
2022-2023
Franklin Cruz
Denver, CO
PROJECT
2022-2023
Aaron Terry
Philadelphia, PA
PROJECT
2022-2023
Amir Campbell
Philadelphia, PA
PROJECT
2022-2023
Richard Johnson
Springfield, MA
PROJECT
2022-2023
Hector Resto
Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
PROJECT
2022-2023
Samih Abu Zakieh
Hebron, Palestine
PROJECT
2022-2023
Cecile Chong
New York
PROJECT
2020-2021
Nikki Lindt
New York
PROJECT
2020-2021
Kilia Llano
Santo Domingo, DR
PROJECT
2020-2021
Dylan Gauthier
New York
PROJECT
2018
Julia Oldham
New York
PROJECT
2018
Katie Holten
New York
PROJECT
2017
Matthew López-Jensen
New York
PROJECT
2017
Heidi Neilson
New York
PROJECT
2017
Adam Stoltman
New York
PROJECT
2016
Lize Mogel
New York
PROJECT
2016
“I want murals to encourage people to be able to admire, and most of all respect these animals, and understand that nature creates a bond between humans that is unbreakable.”
Kilia Llano, Santo Domingo
Resident artist 2020-22
‘Pathways to Inspiration’ discusses how nature, the arts, and education intersect and promote meaningful connections with our local environment, moderated by Mary Miss from City as Living Laboratory, with a very special introduction led by Urban Wilderness explorer Jean Gardner of The New School. Speakers included Meredith McDermott (Director of Sustainability at NYC Dept. of Education), Dylan Gauthier (2019 NYC Urban Field Station Artist in Residence), Mariel Villeré (Program Development Director, Office of Academic Initiatives and Strategic Innovation at the CUNY Graduate Center), Sarah Aucoin (Chief of Education and Wildlife, NYC Parks), and Catherine Grau (Public Programs Coordinator, Queens Museum).
Nature provides us with the inspiration for art and the material to learn about life, systems, and ourselves. Despite hundreds of years of development, NYC is abundant with nature and rich in public parkland, where people recreate, clear their heads, and connect with nature. Nature also acts as a living laboratory where teachers and students, as well as the public, are learning important lessons that reinforce STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) education and nurture creativity.
Biocultural Stewardship: Transforming our Urban and Community Forestry Practices
Diverse perspectives and approaches to learning and knowing can strengthen our work in urban and community forestry. Indigenous and local knowledge is embedded in the concept of biocultural stewardship – an approach to working with communities recognizing that the stewardship of place is inseparable from the stewardship of people, and that cultural resources are as important as natural resources. A shift towards biocultural stewardship can help cultivate sustainability and well-being in communities undergoing rapid environmental, social, and climate changes. In this presentation, we explore the concept of biocultural stewardship and how it can be applied to different geographical contexts and culturally distinct communities, including urban settings.
Writing
Who Takes Care of New York?
Civic leaders and community members regularly put time and energy into caring and advocating for…
The LEAF Episode 1: Show and Tells from FRIEC Collective Artists
Want to explore diverse and connecting threads in urban ecological arts? In the LEAF, three FRIEC…
Artists in Conversation with Air in Cities
Introduction Artists in Conversation with Nature in Cities In the late 1960s, an American artist…
Discovering Stewardship Through Play: Using Applied Theater Techniques for Environmental Education
Human impacts on the environment are no joke, and climate change is one of the…
Quarantine Fatigue and the Power of Activating Public Lands as Social Infrastructure
This essay is part three in a series. Since 13 March 2020, our team of…
There’s a Social Element to the Nature in Cities
Thanks to a bunch of canny coyotes doing what coyotes do, we have recently been…
Visions of resilience: Eighteen artists say or show something in response to the word “resilience”
Introduction Resilience. Resilient. It is is the word of the decade. As sustainability was before…
New York’s Central Park as Muse, as Imagination, as Home
A review of: Painting Central Park, by Roger Pasquier. 2015. ISBN: 0-86565-314-3. Vendome Press, New…
Street Tree Tarot is a Tool for Storytelling, Connection, and Reflection
Matthew López-Jensen, the artist, author, and educator behind New York City Street Tree Tarot. The…
Caring in Public: Testing Our Framework with Different Social Infrastructure Sites and Systems (Part 2)
By Lindsay Campbell, New York. Robin Cline, Chicago. Laura Landau, New York. Georgia Silvera Seamans,…
Artists in Conversation with Water in Cities
Introduction As human beings who inhabit bodies made mostly of water, connecting to water as…
Encountering the Urban Forest
For all the critical scholarship that is written about the harnessing of volunteer labor in…
Rock, Tree, Human
As a Brooklyn (New York) resident for over 15 years, I’ve never thought much about…
Composing an Entropic Symphony from the Sounds of Plants About to Be Displaced
In early 2018, the Assiniboine Park Conservancy, which is located in the western part of…
The View from Our Windows: Our Social Ecologies of Sheltering in Place
How do you conduct social science research about people’s relationship to place and the environment…
Roundtable: How can murals be catalysts for climate and community action?
Introduction Murals are everywhere now—on schoolyards and salt boxes, buses and armories, waterfronts and wildlife…
Artists and scientists that co-create regenerative projects in cities?
Yes, please. But how?
Introduction Storytelling about humans and nature We know that different ways of knowing produce different…
Covid has upended all the normal routines in our lives and work. How do you imagine you might be changed by it, both professionally, but also personally as you negotiate a new post-virus “normal”?
Introduction We are all confined to our homes—if we are lucky (more on that later)….
To whom does a city’s nature belong? Is it a common pool resource, or a public good? And who decides?
Introduction We believe that urban green spaces and natural resources have value. Much of the…
Stewarding Memories: Caring for People, Trees, and Land
“We will never forget.” After September 11 (2001), this claim was made in countless political…
Socially Distant Summer: Stewarding Nature and Community to Meet Basic Needs during a Pandemic
This essay is part two in a series. Since 13 March 2020, our team of…
About Us
NaturePLACE (formerly Urban Field Station) Collaborative Arts Program is a virtual, community-centered, and place-based artist residency program hosted by the USDA Forest Service in partnership with The Nature of Cities. We explore what can be learned at the intersection of arts, science, and practice in environmental systems. We facilitate artist engagement with land managers, researchers, and communities to explore and communicate about urban & community forests and social-ecological systems through works of art and imagination.
The program has operated since 2016, hosting artists in cities including New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Springfield (MA), Denver, Honolulu, San Juan (PR), Hebron, and Santo Domingo. The Nature of Cities provides the networking and administrative support that unites these efforts into an annual cohort of artists and locations. These networks aim to bring new perspectives, unique planning and design ideas, and creative problem solving from the arts and humanities to advance our collective understanding and management of social-ecological systems.
Contact us at [email protected]
Archive of Artists Calls
Press
Queens Chronicle: Museum show celebrates civic stewardship
Curbed: Who Takes Care of York?
Hyperallergic.com: New York City and Its Connections to the Moon
QNS: Program at Bayside park welcomes two new artists-in-residence
New York Times:
A Forest Floats on the Bronx River, With Free Produce
The Optimistic Art of Mary Mattingly
Wall Street Journal: An Artist Floats an Edible Forest: ‘Swale,’ currently moored in the Bronx River, is a 130-by-40-foot barge with a food forest on board
Press for The Underground Sound Project:
Art Spiel: Featured Artist | BKReader: New Prospect Park Exhibit Takes Visitors on a Journey Into What Life Sounds Like … Underground | untapped new york: 16 New Public Art Installations in NYC July 2022 | Here & Now: ‘The Underground Sound Project’ puts an ear to the ground — and underneath | Forbes – A Day Out In Brooklyn: Art + Nature
