This publication is a space dedicated to these infinite expressions. Within these pages, artists, writers and visionaries come together to explore regeneration as a creative force, one that evolves in tune with diverse backgrounds, communities and environments. The result is not a single story, but a canvas of reflections, each one adding nuance and depth to our understanding of the world and the cycles that sustain it.
We hope that by sharing these voices, we can inspire you to discover what regeneration means to you, recognising that in each unique viewpoint lies the potential to enrich our collective journey. The more diverse these expressions, the fuller our picture of regeneration becomes, revealing paths toward a future grounded in empathy, imagination and shared resilience.
This publication is a significant component of Unearhodox’s Regenerative Futures programme, an ambitious endeavour spanning 2024 to 2026 that brings together global creators and changemakers to envisage regeneration as a tangible force for positive change. The programme seeks to redefine what it means to engage in regeneration by exploring how the concept can be manifested in art, culture and daily practices.
In mid-2024, we asked creators of all stripes to make the idea of regeneration their muse. We wanted to know what regeneration meant to people of diverse backgrounds and practices. More than that, we wanted to know how regeneration felt, looked and sounded.
As the pages of this publication show, craft and insight shone through the Voices of Regeneration project in a symphony of renewal. In sharing a selection of the works, we hope to inspire innovators not only to develop a more regenerative practice but to weave stories of justice, ingenuity and creative relationships with the natural world into their desire for change.
Cycles of Hope is a direct reference to one of the submitted works, Cycles of Hope in Re-generative Transformations by Taís Sonetti González1. In the author’s words, “Regenerating hope is akin to regenerating life itself, reconnecting with all beings and embracing fundamental human qualities such as sensitivity, empathy, creativity and humanity, which turn the essence of a re-generative process.”
It takes courage to recognise despair, injustice and decay as part of a larger cycle that leads to hope, justice and collective flourishing. The images and ideas that run through this project show the role of creativity as an animating force in the flow of nature’s cycle.
We invite you, the reader, to go to a safe and contemplative place; in your mind, in your world. This publication is curated to guide you and your practice on a process of creative regeneration across three stages:
Decay + Heal invokes the loss and recovery intrinsic to the regenerative process. Contemplations of human histories and trauma are uttered in the same breath as decomposition in the more-than-human world.
Define + Relate speaks to the search for meaning that a term like regeneration sparks. Hosting a plurality of understandings, regenerative practice is grounded in an intercultural, interspecies value system.
Imagine + Act is a launchpad for the speculation of more regenerative futures. Compelling visions and carefully crafted thought experiments offer paths as yet untravelled.
Each chapter is accompanied by a series of prompts to help you reflect on regeneration in your own context. We encourage you to make notes and draw in the companion notebook.
Niels Devisscher, is a landscape photographer, writer, and collage artist. His art envisions worlds that re-examine what it means to live in, relate, and devote ourselves to the living world within and around us.
Ana Zdravković is a visual artist and researcher. She explores the intricate connections between humanity and nature through her painting and drawing practices.
Rahel Könen, through storytelling, research, and facilitation,aims to support shifts in worldview, culture and human-nature relations to co-create more just and regenerative futures.
Yashsavi, from Himachal Pradesh, India, explores the interactive triad of time, space, and people in rural communities and eco-cultures, using various mediums, including linocut stamp-making.
Arowah Cleaver is an activist, musician and sound healer whose work is committed to Healing Justice.
Abirami R, deeply influenced by her delta village upbringing, brings nature’s vibrant colours and tranquillity to life on canvas, capturing intricate details that inspire harmony and immersion.
Sian Meades-Williams lives in London. Her poetry has been published by Dust and Fawn Press. Her historical novel-in progress, Belville, won the 2022 Yeovil Literary Prize.
Sinenkosi Msomi is a self-taught photographer from Eswatini. He draws inspiration from his inner feelings, childhood memories, self-expression, and the beautiful bond between humans and nature.
Paige Emery is an artist, herbalist and plant dreamer exploring rituals of remembering the Earth. Her work interweaves healing arts and critical ecology, ecopoetics and socioenvironmental praxis.
Bodhi Shola, a transversal artist, explores sustainable evolution through ritualistic practices blending art, nature, and spirit, using photography, multi sensory experiences, writing and guidance.
Myra Colis is an Indigenous Igorot with expertise in technology law, an advocate for AI ethics and governance, a community leader and founder of MABIKAs Foundation- The Netherlands.
Emily Joy is a UK based, socially engaged artist making sculpture, installation and performative work, and is a facilitator of public creative projects.
Lauren Saunders is a British professional artist who collaborates with both human and more-than-human communities to tell their stories about nature and the climate crisis.
Azucena Sanchez is a media artist from Mexico City, based in Munich. Her artistic practice explores the intersection of life, science, and technology.
Eli Warija, embraces regeneration through community and nature, exploring healing, and the human-environment connection with deep empathy and purpose.
Vanessa Rider, born in the shadow of Russia and the United States, explores alternatives to cultural hegemony through texts, music, multimedia and liberated relations.
Libby Gallagher is a textile artist specialising in regenerative materiality. Libby’s ecologically relevant textiles spotlight the potential and versatility of cellulose fibre throughout its circular lifecycle.
Irina Wang is a designer/researcher practising the creative work of cross-sector translation, strategic work of systems transition, and ethical work of forging long-term allyship.
Iryna Dihtiarova-Deslypper was born on a leap day, February 29, 1988, in Ukraine. Writing stories since the age of four. Life’s mission: to rewrite the future with the help of cli-fi.
Salem Jorden is an artist, creative technologist, and storyteller. Her work explores the intersections of humans, artificial and planetary intelligence.
Fen Hsu explores the themes of environmentalism and renewal in contemporary paintings. Gestural forms and magic realism impart an ethereal and philosophic presence to her work.
Yuhan Wu is a London-based visual artist exploring the intricate relationship between humanity and nature through photography
Beth Krensky is a gatherer of things–objects, words, spirit and connector of fragments, to make us whole. She resides in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Kimberley Graham’s work explores less-anthropocentric and collaborative ways to work in partnership with nature. She co-creates art with water using crystallography, photography, and pencil drawings.
Melany Poppe is a Bolivian environmental engineer based in Köln, Germany. She is exploring how individual perceptions shape collective realities and how working on inner change can drive outer transformation for a future we all desire.
Denise Foulkes is a Mexican illustrator and graphic designer dedicated to sharing, inspiring, and sparking reflection on universal issues, always with a focus on peace.
Taís Sonetti-González is a researcher unlearning academia that seeks to amplify humanature entanglements through sentipensar (feeling-thinking), crafting poetry within the gaps of life’s in-between spaces.
Editor’s note: The main text here is written in British English, however the words within each essay, excerpt or caption have been presented unedited and unaltered, so variations on spelling, capitalisation and grammar conventions, and creative uses of language, are found throughout.
Explore the entries that received awards through the call here.
To discuss the work further, contact regenerativefutures@unearthodox.org.
Author: Cian Mcalone
Cían McAlone is a writer and engagement specialist. He bridges creativity and impact, bringing participative and innovative approaches to purpose-driven areas like humanitarian work, conservation, and arts education.
Project team: Anca Damerell, Claire Dusonchet, Anaïk Anthonioz-Blanc, Sasha Sebright, Ruth Isabel Guerra, Cían McAlone, Fabio Pianini, Sudha Iyer
Editor: Megan Eaves
Proofreader: Beth Byrne, Scriptoria
Graphic designer: Claire Pauchet
© Text 2024 Unearthodox - All Rights Reserved
Cover image: Metanoia, a collage by Niels Devisscher for Unearthodox’s Voices of Regeneration creative call
Intro art: Lichen, a Painting / Drawing by Ana Zdravkovic for Unearthodox’s Voices of Regeneration creative call
Notebook Image: Re-emergence of life, an Illustration by Denise Foulkes for Unearthodox’s Voices of Regeneration creative call.
