practice-based research project

Case Study Two – Social Forest: Oaks of Tovaangar

After visiting The Broad’s Joseph Beuys exhibition this Spring, I came away with a postcard speckled with seeds and encouraging me to plant it. As an artist, Beuys’ social sculptures formed his career – 7000 Oaks being a Germany-based planting project responding to the devastation of WWII. He saw the political world around him, and responded with a social, environmental approach. 7000 Oaks’ legacy has spread across countries, in 2021 to the Tate Modern as a response to the climate emergency, and now in 2025 to Los Angeles, stimulating The Broad’s ‘major reforestation initiative’[1].

Social Forest: Oaks of Tovaagar is their institutional commitment to the histories of their environment – planting 100 oak trees in Elysian Park to remember the histories of the Tongva people, indigenous to the Southern Californian land now forming Los Angeles. Their Joseph Beuys exhibition ended with a room showcasing 7000 Oaks’ legacy, and explaining this new initiative’s situation outside this Grand Avenue gallery. 

Social Forest combines reforestation and environmental commitments to exploring and remembering the social and geographic histories of the area. Nature is found and protected within the metropolitan – Elysian Park being a rare site of conservation in the city’s expanse. The project looks at human intervention, both in recognising the historical implications of the LA’s creation, and attempting to reclaim nature within it. I decided to take this essence into the personal realm, looking less at the area’s history and more into planting seeds for new histories and legacies to bloom.

 By looking into the past, and making commitments to the future – Social Forest’s motivations Sowing the Seeds’. Altering the landscape is their focus, allowing me to consider how both natural and city spaces evolve – and what we can do to intervene on a smaller scale. The postcard I received from The Broad inspired my thinking into visitors leaving a gallery space with a material to take away, that will grow if they so desire.

The social commitment of the project outside the gallery being neatly brought back in, finding a personal choice within the wider political framing. This sentiment was what I wanted to echo.

In defining Social Forest as an INITIATIVE, intentionality arises. 100 oak trees are being planted for a purpose – to reforest as a means of remembrance. Intention and desire then became my focus, considered what my project sought to achieve in planting seeds. Having already planted some seeds, I was gradually watching them grow and change form. Care, attention, and the INtention for them to thrive allowed bloom to occur. Just as the Social Forest trees will gradually grow, so does their educational value. The Broad have curated a curriculum alongside the project, designed to educate about its environmental and historical impact, as well as provoke thought into performance or social art. Therefore, the legacy extends past the growth of new life. Intentionality became a practical focus, given the idea that change arises from action. Just as nature borders the city, nature can be changed by human intervention.

[1] Joseph Beuys: In Defence of Nature, The Broad, 16 November 2024 - 23 March 2025