Wilderness Archive

www.wildernessarchive.org An interdisciplinary project at the interface of art and nature, founded by independent curator and researcher Carlo Rizzo. The Wilderness Archive collects stories and rethinks how we make sense of Nature through collaborative research and residencies in locations at the boundary of Wilderness. Its purpose is to encourage new perspectives, creative endeavours and learning opportunities aimed at redefining our relationship with nature, starting from the very notion of wilderness. This project is in its initial phase. We are launching the first multimedia archive in a forest in the south of Chile, in partnership with private conservation foundation Fundación Mar Adentro. Elements of the forest ecosystem from plants, to animals, to migration corridors and perspectives on the land from local communities, will make up the first archive. Elements are chosen for their interconnectedness: what stories do they reveal about the place? This could be a keystone species whose presence is crucial for other life forms, volcanic rock whose nutrients supports the entire ecosystem or a piece of architecture that has witnessed transformations in the landscape over time. We wish to tell the story of this place from as many perspectives as possible. As an open platform and local resource, the Wilderness Archive operates through collaborative research. Artists, scientists and other interdisciplinary practitioners will be invited to respond to the archive, 'activating' the elements and designing public engagement programmes.