Relational Space
becoming a forest
Winter trail at the Seasonal Academy invites to think, sense, feel, practice, and embody the complexity of webs of relations with which our lives are intertwined. It is dedicated to a larger, more expanded and deepened sense of self, to the collective capacity for intra-relational becoming, making kin across species, regenerating bonding, overcoming distance to (your) world and cultivating resonance.
Often our efforts to describe our worlds turn into attempts to explain them, and we distance ourselves from the actual experience of being alive and being in relation. Our inquiries into the subjects of this trail sprout from both, love and pain. From the infinite gratitude for the generous, compassionate, attentive and affective togetherness. And from the wounds left by blindly established hierarchies, extractivist relations, failure to maintain sincere attention, exclusive perception of separate individualised existence, and other raptures in the invisible bonds existing between living beings. This trail extends an invitation to look at those subjects, their histories and potential futures, and to find anchors for discernment, meaning-making and antidotes to distancing.
Trail Flow
For all those I love,
that continue being disappeared.
Multispecies life forms are more than interconnected — they are mutually constitutive. Embedded into ecologies of manifold everyday life interactions, often governed by the same mindset, they demand movement towards a change of paradigm, towards an enlarged sense of self, towards a deeper experience of relational nature of reality. As fugitives from the human colonial order, from ways we were taught to discern reality or assume identities, in this winter trail we are investigating how do we commune otherwise and live the complexity of our entanglements, investigating elements of life which we are part of, but not only us, which we can experience, but not only we — moving away from anthropocentrism into a place where we recognise ourselves as being part of a complex process contributing to a more balanced planetary cohabitation.
Week 1: Entanglement
Unseen interspecies networks
Far away, remote, intimate
Relation as a basic unit of analysis
Week 2: Reciprocity
Listening
Boundaries
Cultivation of sharing
Week 3: Living in Diversity
Intra-relational becoming
Conflicts
Earth Beings
Week 4: Bonding
Regeneration
Resonance
Making Sanctuary
Week 5: Symbiotic Earth
Infinite bonds: “human, but not only”
Sympoiesis and wonder
“All flourishing is mutual”
Voices from the previous trails
“I could not have foreseen the world I entered into as I stepped through Foresta's looking glass. While remaining firmly embedded in the world we all walk in, it felt like a peaceful resting place, away from the patterns and flows of the conventional insanity. A place were you are invited to unlearn while you learn. A garden where you leave behind as you take onboard. A mirror that will reflect more of the possible than you ever could imagine. The skilful guidance and intriguing impulses make this journey a feast. A celebration of the senses, of community, of deep belonging to the mycelium of the human and more-than-human universe.”
- Sven (Netherlands) - artist
“Life changing. This was worth all of my time, attention and every penny, foresta collective facilitates (literally makes easy) an amazing opportunity to be in an emerging, thoughtful, risk taking, inspiring, energized family of interdisciplinary makers. The impulses began at the edges of my understandings and stretched my world view x 200, (think of the Grinch and his heart size). I was prompted to play until I was literally exhausted with joy and new understandings. Warning: don't take this unless you want to revolutionize your work and be connected to a group of people who you will come to love and want to visit, all over the world.”
- Susan Bickford (Maine, USA) - artist, professor, forager
“Amongst a wide swath of internet filled with 2 dimensional connections and relations, Foresta Collective is a breath of fresh air. A genuine invitation and opportunity to connect deeply with self, other human beings, and with all other non humans and non living beings. It is a deep dive into not only the mind and thinking, but feeling, doing, creating and exploring. I have a really hard time finding people who experience the world with the same curiosity, compassion and love that I do. This isolation can prove to feel very isolating. I found a home in Foresta's winter trail, and plan to return to find it again in seasons to come. <3”
- Kinsey (San Diego, USA) - dancer, artist
“Walking with Foresta collective into sunlit clearings between trees and along paths between thinking and doing is a process I would recommend to everyone. The combination of openness and playfulness with sharpness and a challenge to think, feel and move differently in the world, deepens and extends the possibilities of your own practice and how you can live well in relationship to an often troubled world. Through these travels you can find ways to stay with the trouble and still find ways to personally and collectively thrive.”
- Rona (Ghent, Belgium) - performer, docent
“It is hard to put it into words as I feel there is still a lot of undigested matter in all sorts of elemental forms that has not emerged yet. Amongst all nourishing offerings, the guidance by Foresta Collective was certainly the greatest of all. The tenderness, compassion, care, intimacy, and attentiveness in every step of the way. The trail enabled such a portal of inquiry that it has not just been my sacred haven through which to tap right into source, but one that has provided me with rooted and unseen ways towards reciprocal territories of world-making. I am forever grateful. Thank you.”
- Judit Sánchez Velasco (Catalunya, Spain) - artist, activist, herbalist
“Foresta collective was for me a space of seeding and harvesting. A sacred space of weaving distant worlds so close at the same time. Here, I had time and place to explore my inner forest as I slowly traversed and stopped to listen to new sounds, recognize old textures while learning to share them with others. Beautiful space of containment and creativity where magic comes to life. Thank you for the openness, dedication and willingness to accompany all our individual and collective landscapes”
- Kath Álvarez (Columbia) - landscape architect, explorer
“Foresta Collective's Seasonal Academy transported me to world filled with a supportive intertwined network of likeminded folks who helped me grow in my artistic and self care practice. I am excited to journey onward with the new tools that I've discovered in this course and continue diving into a building a deeper understanding of nourishing nature - human connection.”
- Tatiana Rathke (Louisville, US) - artist, photographer, seeker
“I have now joined three Foresta trails in a row and never stop being surprised, delighted, nourished and moved by the journey. What's extraordinary about Sabina and Egor is they're doing what most organisations don't - they experiment, play, take risks, iterate. Each trail has had it's own rhythm, shape and energy - they don't follow formulas and play it safe and you are rewarded with a highly crafted, enriching and re-fuelling experience full of humility and warmth ✨🌱.”
- Becky (UK) - research and creative practice at the intersection of art + science + ecology + fiction
“Foresta Academy Trail has been such a valuable experience for me, in ways I struggle to articulate in words. The overall quality of the program, depth of the speakers and impulses, originality of the way it is designed and set-up, but most of all the intimacy and safe space that Egor and Sabina create and hold, was very impressive and inspiring. Cannot wait to join another Foresta program soon!”
- Olaf Boswijk (Chile/Netherlands) - founder of the Valley of the Possible
“The Trail offered me the opportunity to meet with a group of very interesting people who are thinking very seriously about their work and their place in the world. The diversity of interests was very interesting and the desire to live respectfully and responsibly was heartening, as was the intention to imagine futures beyond othering and extraction. La Foresta is a force for the kind of change our world needs right now. I appreciate the leadership and facilitative approach of Sabina and Egor and thank them for their input into my own thinking.”
- Anne Kenna (Ireland) - artist and thinker
“It was fantastic and so much more happened than I could ever have imagined. It was a thoughtful, critical, creative, warmhearted and honest trail to go through so inspiring and good presented impulses. The live sessions felt each time so different and always inspiring. An amazing collective trail into creative thinking and sharing, a hike into the unknown, a swim into deep waters of collective murmurational movements. Ultimately feeling very welcomed and inspired to get each an important part in this, and a constant curiosity involving to connect us all so fantastically.”
- Yvonne Kaiser (Belgium) - arts educator, grower
“Very nice! Combination between french philosophers, art and embodiment was amazing! I also enjoyed the balance between theory and practice a lot. Thanks for opening new avenues for mapping practices and embodiment!”
- Jacques Chlopczyk (Berlin, Germany), social psychologist, systemic consultant and facilitator, recovering academic.
Participating in Foresta Academy format opened my mind and awoke my creative attitude. During the workshop I had several revealing insights that I could apply in my daily life and I enjoyed the proposed working methodology. I liked the slow pace and the attention to detail of the workshop. Without a doubt it’s a beautiful, symbolic and full of care proposal that will put you in touch with your creative potential in a shared way. I look forward to participating on another occasion.
- Oriol Segon Torra (Manresa, Barcelona), photographer
“The Foresta Collective challenges conventional models of learning - it encourages belonging, community, care, exploration, and giving attention in ways you don't often find in the classroom. It is transdisciplinary in its approach, and, as such, allows understandings to form freely, eschewing the homogeneity of receiving knowledge in favor of giving attention to how we come to know in the first place.”
- David Caron (Portland, USA) - cultural critic, bookseller, philosopher
“Foresta Collective is creating a non-hierarchical learning space for all kinds of thinkers, makers, doers and be-ers. The space they create is focused and open at the same time. In the sessions I attended I filled up the pages of my notebook with new sparks of ideas and new ways of thinking about old ideas. I need this type of connection in order to keep my creative practice flowing in my daily life. Foresta Collective fed me in that way.”
- Rachel Alexandrou (Maine, USA) - forager, artist and educator working with wild plants
“Foresta trail is a spacious experience. Depth of thought and sensitivity were crafted into the impulses which led through the trail.”
- Karen Allen (New York, USA) - artist
“Thanks to Sabina & Egors perceptive guidance in embodied intuiting and the wonderfully inspirational and enlivening processes they shared, this trail has reminded me to attend to my personal ecology rather than a projected one, and provided some wonderfully playful ways to do so. I am incredibly thankful for the many tenderly provocative questions and prompts that I continue to engage with to assist in grounding myself within my practice. It has been a blessing to have their support in creating this precious space for intentional reflection.”
- Andrea Vela Alarcón (Tsi T’karonto, Canada) - community educator, facilitator, artist
“Thanks to Sabina & Egors perceptive guidance in embodied intuiting and the wonderfully inspirational and enlivening processes they shared, this trail has reminded me to attend to my personal ecology rather than a projected one, and provided some wonderfully playful ways to do so. I am incredibly thankful for the many tenderly provocative questions and prompts that I continue to engage with to assist in grounding myself within my practice. It has been a blessing to have their support in creating this precious space for intentional reflection”
- Eliza Bennett (UK) - artist
“The personal ecologies module helped me go through a difficult time giving me support and feeling of continuity in very chaotic time in my life. It was grounding experience guiding me from distraction towards what is important for me.”
- Marek Glogowski (Warsaw, Poland) - designer, maker
“I felt very lucky to be able to take part in this initiative even though I do not live locally. The content discussed was super interesting and in times like these it felt good to engage in these conversations and be 'around' other interested/interesting people.”
- Emilie (UK), Spatial designer
“I found the presentations and guided discussions really interesting. I really enjoyed hearing others share their responses to the material presented. Having someone familiar with the varying practices was really good. I found the modules both inspiring, suggesting new ways to both experience the world and think about it.”
- Anne (Ireland), Arts, theology, philosophy and education
“foresta collective offers a wonderful platform for collective-thinking through different ways of being and knowing in the world.”
- Talia Molé, artist
“I enjoyed the hands-on nature of this online sessions. It takes courage to do more than talk in this rush that we have to take everything into the virtual realm. This is just the kind of experimentation we need!”
- Aerin Dunford (Oaxaca, Mexico), The Emergence Network
“The curation of the content is made with such a delicacy, I felt that the offering reflect paths surrounded by beauty that needs to be shared with others :)”
- Andrea (Ecuador), indigenous pedagogies, research on gender and sexuality, Ecoversities
“Sabina and Egor have developed a wonderful program that explores the connections between artistic practice, ecological thinking and activism. They are kind, generous people and the atmosphere in the program reflects that: I experienced a community of kindred spirits, characterised by deep exploration, inspiring content and positive communication.”
- Noel (Italy/USA), artist and anthropologist exploring paths beyond the Anthropocene
“Very satisfied. I learned a lot, both in terms of form (online facilitation, tools, embodied practices & multimodal exercises) and content. I felt connected to the intention, structure and examples in the sense that it kept me engaged and curious.”
- Sabine (Greece), junior researcher in Educational Sciences and Linguistics, co-founder and facilitator of sChOoL🤸♀️withOuT frOntiers⛵.
Practical Infos
This is a self-paced learning experience. It begins with a personal live welcome session and ends with a contemplative closing session with one of the co-authors of the Seasonal Academy. If several participants wish to walk the trail together, we offer a possibility for both sessions to be collective rather than personal online meetings.
Every week recorded impulses and learning materials (including embodied practice and thinking-through-making invitations) will be shared with you on an online platform. Impulses are guided formats that try to be mostly screen-free and invite you for long walks and deep dives into practice. The online platform offers space for interacting with the team and sharing your process if you wish to do so.
All impulses will stay available for you to access at anytime also after the end of the trail.
Fees and Application
Registrations for the Winter Trail 2025 open early January 2025
Illustration: Armando Fonseca
“The time I spent in and with and surrounded by Foresta Collective was - as the name suggests - like spending time in a forest. I felt carried, cared for and part of a space full of interwoven and reciprocal relationships. In that space, the connections present in my personal and professional environment that I want to give attention to became clearer and stronger. Foresta Collective made visible what was already there in the most profound and shapeshifting way and for that I am grateful without end. I hope to care and carry it with me into the future.”
- Charlotte Peys (Ghent, Belgium) - artist, illustrator