Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden hosts ancient Scottish weaving classes at COP26

During COP26, The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh has been presenting The Encampment of Eternal Hope, an artwork by artists Walker & Bromwich, encouraging people to reflect on the climate emergency and its impact on indiginous communities through unique activities.

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This immersive, sculptural environment will be a hub for events that will amplify Indigenous voices, encourage critical thinking and facilitate exchange with local communities, artists and activists about the climate emergency.

Set in Glasgow’s vast former fish market, it will provide an open space to consider how we can live sustainably with Earth’s living systems.

Encampment of Eternal Hope at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art (Mark Pinder)

The building will be filled with playful, inflatable oversized flowers that merge with weapons of war to create objects that advocate peace. They invite attendees to contemplate how connecting with nature might avert the climate catastrophe.

Alongside a programme of discurrious will be a variety of their events including performances from La Minga Indígena, workshops on ancient plant-based weaving techniques drawn from past traditions of Scotland, presentations by youth eco-activists from Sunnyside Primary School, performances by Glasgow based artists including Walker & Bromwich, Hanna Tuulikki and Pauline and The Matches.

There will also be several Leaves for Life workshops inviting us to join in solidarity with the people of the Amazon in an emerging campaign to highlight deforestation.

In the windows of The Briggait Colombian artist Fernando Arias will present a series of video portraits of people from the Indigenous community of San Francisco in the Colombian Amazon. Entitled Silence, the participants gaze into the camera whilst reflecting on the exploitation of their territories by outsiders. Their silence represents how they feel they have been silenced over the years, most recently in relation to climate negotiations involving their land.

A spokesperson from the project said: “We look forward to welcoming you all into the open space of The Encampment of Eternal Hope open from Sunday, October 31 to Wednesday, November 10.”

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