Forest of Encounters

In a 2020–2021 participatory budgeting project, residents of the city could vote on how the city should be developed. One of the projects selected for implementation aimed to bring more street art to the city centre. Because Lahti was elected the European Green Capital of 2021, the decision was made to use plants in the project. The artist chosen for the project was Kaisa Salmi, whose evocative Forest of Encounters both addresses the issue of loneliness heightened by the Covid-19 pandemic and reminds us of the importance of local climate action, such as planting trees and fostering a connection with nature.

Forest of Encounters is a conceptual environmental work consisting of ten red birch trees located in Massinpuisto Park in the centre of Lahti. There are resting places in the area, as are placards with texts on the subject of loneliness, chosen by artist and philosopher Sanna Tirkkonen. The poetic texts are excerpts from the writings of Tirkkonen as well as those of Hanna Arendt and Tove Jansson, among others. In keeping with the environmental theme, a meadow of red flowers, attracting pollinators and butterflies, was planted around the continuously growing forest that acts as a carbon sink.

Artwork on the map

In Massinpuisto park, along the path. – Taapelikatu 12, Lahti.
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