The seventh oak will be planted in Crossway Park on 29 January at 5.30pm to complete the town’s new 18-metre diameter ecological artwork.
The oak circle will be strikingly illuminated during the event. This will be accompanied by live singing from the Thamesmead Community Choir, initiating a connection between the trees and the local community.
“It will be a visual and musical ceremony celebrating the planting of the seventh oak tree and the completion of Thamesmead’s new oak circle,” said artist Heather Ackroyd. “We’d love people to come along and be a part of this.”
Dan Harvey, the other half of the artistic duo, added: “This ceremonial planting is about giving ownership of the oak circle to the people of Thamesmead.
“We’ve already done workshops with Jubilee Primary School. Any young child who comes along to the planting event perhaps may still remember the night in 30 years. The children will grow and the trees will grow. Whenever they see the trees, we hope it will create a connection to the planting.”
Thamesmead Community Choir, which will provide the soundtrack to the ceremony, is led by former Jubilee Primary School pupil Jecoliah ‘J Cocoa’ Frimpong.
Heather and Dan have been working on their project, Beuys’ Acorns, for 18 years. They have grown all seven Thamesmead oaks from acorns. The pair gathered the acorns from some of the 7,000 oak trees planted by artist and environmental activist Joseph Beuys in Germany between 1982 and 1987.
They are renowned for creating visually impressive living artworks that combine ecology and art.
Heather explained: “People are familiar with seeing a sculpture carved out of a dead tree, but we see trees as sculptures in their own right. Working with living materials means the artwork improves and gets more beautiful with age.
“If they stay healthy, the Thamesmead oaks will be part of the community for hundreds of years to come.”
In the build-up to the ceremonial planting, Ackroyd & Harvey will also be in conversation at The Nest following a free screening of the documentary Beuys.
The Thamesmead oak circle is being created by Ackroyd & Harvey in partnership with Peabody. The ceremonial planting of the seventh oak is part of the London Borough of Bexley’s Night Visions festival. Find out more about Beuys’ Acorns and the planting of the seventh oak.
