Peace Arbour

A person ties something onto the branch of a tree in a garden area. There is a circle made up of wooden benches.

A framed messages and a box sit on top of a wooden table in an outdoor area.

A person writes down something on a piece of paper leaning on a wooden table, next to a white box.

On a stack of bricks there is a sign displayed that reads 'Write your wishes here' on a chalkboard.

A4 sized artworks are displayed on a white wall. There is a see through curtain covering one of the archways into the space.

A4 sized artworks are displayed on a white wall.

The back of a person sitting on a chair watching a film on a screen, in a dark panelled room. The still on screen is a woman standing in a well lit room with a object fixed to her arm, standing in front of a tree.

An panelled room with an armchair surrounded by large plants. There is a light rug on the ground.

Organic-like artworks are displayed on a white wall, some are hanging up on a string across the room.

Organic-like objects are displayed on a table covered by a light blue tablecloth.

A photo of an outstretch arm and hand which is covered by a device with visible batteries, wiring and tubing. In their palm they hold a leaf below part of the machine.

A woman waring a sunhat and insect net sits in outside in an area surrounded by trees. In her hands she holds a machine which is connected to a tube.

A woman stands below a tree with green and red leaves in a courtyard. Attached to the branches of the tree are pieces of white paper.

This year, Glasgow Women’s Library opens its new temporary orchard for people to acknowledge grief and imagine peaceful futures. Three artists respond to the themes of trees, hope and healing across this arbour and within the library space. Reiko Goto Collins has created a fruit tree nursery and a forum for discussion, learning, reflection, and imagination that centres the value of nature in neighbourhoods. Working with local communities, Reiko’s work evokes the powerful capacity trees have to positively affect ourselves and our threatened environment. At the heart of this arbour Yoko Ono’s Wish Tree, 1996/2024, creates a focal point for people to express wishes and needs.

During Glasgow International the garden is activated by a series of performances and facilitated discussions by Reiko and the Library team. These events are programmed in harmony with changing daylight conditions, from sunrise gatherings to conversations in the dusk – the differences in time and light reflecting Reiko’s responsive interactions with trees. The orchard arbour is a site where visitors can acknowledge sadness, share stories, and consider trees as living markers for memory.

Inside the library and in a flag work created for the Glasgow Women’s Library building facade, artworks by Yoko Ono address violence on different registers acknowledging deeply personal harms experienced by individuals and calls for political resistance to global conflict through her enduring earth peace practices. Yoko Ono’s participation reflects the Library’s intention in its work since 1991 to honour the long trajectory of feminist artists and activists, advocating Peace is Power.

An installation by emerging artist Zana Araki articulates their experiences of trauma and as a neurodivergent queer survivor in relation to the healing role and soothing energy of trees.

Performance & Discussion

HAKOTO

Friday 7th June: 7am

Saturday 8th June: 1pm and 3pm

Saturday 22nd June: 1pm, 3pm and 8.30pm

HAKOTO will be performed by Reiko Goto Collins in the fruit tree nursery they have developed as part of the exhibition.

Reiko will be wearing a specially developed instrument that interacts with trees in unique ways, translating changes in light, temperature and moisture experienced by the tree into sound. Each performance creates a different soundscape, changing with the atmosphere in the garden and responding to the leaves as they breathe.

Following the performance will be a discussion, facilitated by Reiko.