The Folly Tree Arboretum is thrilled to open submissions for the Dancing Tree Award for Unorthodox Environmental Projects. Folly Tree Arboretum will award $1500 to an existing finished work or project that embodies a novel strategy for communicating environmental awareness.

We are devoted to the idea that compelling storytelling is an essential component of lasting environmental change. Communicating the scale, immediacy, impact, and paths of action regarding ecological crisis is one of the most pressing issues of our time. This award aims to promote new voices and novel ways of cultural production that are optimistic in approach and run counter to prevailing trends of nihilism and inaction. We support projects that articulate the complexity of our relationship to the natural world in ways that are hopeful, inspiring, humorous, risky, exciting, wacky, provocative, weird, experimental, playful, irreverent, or unexpectedly effective. The Dancing Tree Award acknowledges work that demonstrates an exuberant way forward in the face of seemingly impossible ecological challenges.

Submission Deadline: January 26, 2024

Who can apply:  Anyone! Everyone! You can even apply for someone else! Collaborative teams may apply. Please share with those who you think may be interested in applying.

One award will be given to one project, so award funds must be split by teams & collaborators. 

We encourage artists from any field and background to apply with finished works they feel may relate to this theme even if loosely or abstractly.

Existing completed projects from any of these fields and beyond may apply:

films / videos, sculptures / installation, paintings / drawings / prints, poetry, fiction, nonfiction, design, architecture, creative marketing / advertisement, fashion, craft, new media, social practice, memes, web art, software, games, sports, bio-art, food, music, dance, theater, performance, engineering, activism, landscape design, farming, care-giving, teaching, gardening, etc.

1.) Contact info, including name of awardee(s), email(s), and phone number(s)

2.) Title of Project

3.) One sentence description of project.

4.) 250 word abstract describing your existing project as clearly and concretely as possible.

5.) link to the work or uploaded documentation that you feel best represents the work. 

APPLY HERE!

Please direct any questions to info@follytreearboretum.com. Please note that we may not be able to answer questions until after the January 26 deadline.