News / art and science
Outdoor exhibition conjures ‘portals to different realities’
Art, science and nature have merged for a vibrant outdoor exhibition that seeks to inspire hope in the face of the climate emergency.
Reclaiming Hope, Removing Carbon explores the power and potential of greenhouses gas removal to achieve global climate goals.
Seven artists have contributed to the takeover of the University of Bristol Botanic Gardens, collaborating with climate scientists to produce a series of immersive installations.
The art and science festival’s programme features family-friendly activities, workshops and demonstration
The art, films, animations, podcasts, virtual reality and performances include moving images exploring how algae respond to breath and sculptural work that transforms waste into the carbon-rich soil improver biochar.
‘Each work offers a different way of engaging with climate change, not just through learning, but through feeling, imagination and experience,’ organisers say.
Dubbed a mini art and science festival, the garden will also host family-friendly workshops, talks and hands-on demonstrations so visitors can leave with greater knowledge of climate science and practical ideas for creating a greener future.
The festival’s organiser Natasha Martirosian is a research associate at the hub for greenhouse gas removal and manages a climate-related arts project at Oxford University
“The gardens are a refreshing exhibition space, where nature is the backdrop, and away from sterile white walls. They offer portals to different realities for immersion and transportation out of the every day and away from media,” said Natasha Martirosian, a research associate who took inspiration from Luke Jerram’s Tipping Point installation in the same space in 2024.
“The question after we come back to reality is, how do we harden this into an active, stubborn and hopeful optimism that is uncompromising, where the future is written by our actions and not our fears.”
Martirosian is a research associate at Bristol University-based CO2RE, the UK’s national hub for research on greenhouse gas removal, while the exhibition is a culmination of the CO2RE Arts initiative she manages through Oxford University.
The immersive exhibition is designed to help people not only understand but also engage with climate change through feeling, imagination and experience
“We’re proud to welcome CO2RE Hub to the Botanic Garden and to provide a space where artists can present works on the theme of hope, focusing on different approaches to carbon removal,” said Nick Wray, curator of the Botanic Garden.
“Visitors will be able to explore these exhibits and engage directly with climate experts to learn more about what carbon removal is, all during a weekend when the city is celebrating the natural world through the Festival of Nature.”
Reclaiming Hope, Removing Carbon runs over June 12-13 from 12-6.30pm and from 10am – 4.30pm on Sunday, June 14. It’s free to attend.
Find out more at botanic-garden.bristol.ac.uk/event/reclaiming-hope-removing-carbon
All photos: Hanieh Shabahang
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- In photos: Clifton & Hotwells Open Gardens 2026
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