In a Time of Change: Boreal Forest Stories
May 2–October 18, 2025
About
Friday, May 2, 4:30–7 pm
Exhibit Opening
Friday, May 2, 7 pm
Lecture with ITOC director Mary Beth Leigh, artist and poet Susan Campbell, and artist Jennifer Moss.
Forming an emerald ring around the circumpolar North, the boreal forest is the world’s largest land-based biome. Also known as taiga, it accounts for approximately one third of Earth’s total forest area and covers the majority of Interior Alaska.
Boreal Forest Stories is a cross-disciplinary, collaborative project examining change in the boreal forest through narrative. For over a year and a half, 44 creators, including artists, writers, environmental educators, and humanities scholars exchanged knowledge and perspectives on the boreal forest with scientists and explored narrative as it applies across the disciplines. Through their original works, participants relate stories rooted in the boreal forest, including its ecology, its inhabitants, and their interactions.
Project director: Mary Beth Leigh
Sponsors
ITOC: Boreal Forest Stories was made possible with funding by Rasmuson Foundation through the Harper Arts Touring Fund, and is administered by the Alaska State Council on the Arts. The project was also funded by the National Science Foundation through the Bonanza Creek Long Term Ecological Research Program with additional support from the USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, the UAF Institute of Arctic Biology, and other sponsors.
