A group of volunteer singers from across Newcastle will gather this weekend at the quarry in Jesmond Dene to use singing as a unique tool for climate action.

Led by RA Wollaston Award-winning artist Uta Kögelsberger, the event aims to raise awareness about climate change and “sing forest ecosystems back to health”.

“I think of this work as a metaphor for our desire to control nature and our often failed attempts to do so,” said Kögelsberger.

The event is part-workshop, part-performance, and is scheduled to run from 11am to 4pm on 18th October. As part of Remember Nature 2025, a project described as “a nationwide day of artist-led action to stand up for nature”, the whole gathering will be recorded and later screened at Tate Modern on 4th November.

“The work is loosely based on the notion that if you play music to plants, it accelerates their growth and improves their immune system,” Kögelsberger said. “But at the same time there is a twofold thing going on here: music is also often used in treating mental health. I think of this action as healing the forest, but also a curing of the participants.”

More than 90 people have signed up through Eventbrite so far, reaching almost full capacity with only a few tickets remaining.

Kögelsberger highlighted the accessibility of Jesmond Dene when discussing her choice of location, reflecting her broader work that often appears in the public realm. She added: “Jesmond Dene is already, so to speak, an artificial environment. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not an ecosystem that deserves attention.”

The song to be performed was composed by musician Georgie Buchanan in collaboration with Kögelsberger and while Kögelsberger is the event’s leading figure, she is also supported by choir director Sharon Durant.

This one-day action is an extension of Kögelsberger’s 2025 piece Forest Choir, which encompasses a five-channel video installation that has been developed in collaboration with the Brussels Opera Youth Choir. This can be viewed at the Hatton Gallery as part of Kögelsberger’s solo exhibition Some Kind of Love: Actions and Reactions to Living on a Damaged Planet.

To find out more about the event and how to get involved, follow this link.