Wildsight Golden invites artists of all disciplines to take part in a collaborative, educational art display celebrating the Interior Temperate Rainforest (ITR) — one of the rarest ecosystems on Earth, and right here in our backyard.
This project aims to deepen public understanding of the local ITR ecosystem, highlighting not only old-growth trees, but the full web of flora, fauna, and fungi that make this rainforest thrive. Through art, we hope to spark curiosity, learning, and conversation about what makes this ecosystem unique — and what’s at stake.
Who can apply
We welcome artists working in any medium or format, including but not limited to:
- Painting and drawing
- Photography
- 3D and sculptural work
- Mixed media
- Spoken word poetry
- Music and sound
- Digital or experimental forms
There are no size or format restrictions. Emerging and established artists are equally encouraged to apply. Each selected artist will receive a $150 honorarium.
What we’re looking for
This is an educational display, grounded in science and place. Each artwork will be accompanied by a short scientific statement written connecting the piece to current research and local ecological knowledge.
We encourage artists to think beyond “big trees.” The Interior Temperate Rainforest is a living system — layered, interconnected, and often unseen.
Artists are invited to explore any aspect of the Interior Temperate Rainforest that resonates with them. These prompts are offered as inspiration only — artists are free to interpret, combine, or move beyond them.
Possible themes & focus points:
- Caribou and snow: How deep, moisture-rich snow forms a supportive crust that allows caribou to walk across it and access lichens growing high in old trees
- Lichens as lifelines: Arboreal lichens as winter food sources, and what they reveal about forest age and air quality
- Inland rainforest, coastal species: How consistently high humidity allows “oceanic” species to thrive far from the coast
- Hanging moss ecosystems: Dense draping mats of Antitrichia curtipendula hanging from western redcedar and western hemlock — miniature forests within the forest
- Tree diversity: One of the wettest zones in the province, supporting some of the highest tree species diversity in BC
- Carbon storage hotspots: The Upper Columbia ITR as a region with exceptionally high above ground carbon density
- Valley-bottom forests: Why lower-elevation river valleys near Golden store more carbon — deeper soils, gentler slopes, and greater vegetation growth
- Fungal networks: Mycorrhizal fungi as unseen connectors moving nutrients, water, and carbon between species
- Soundscapes of the rainforest: Rain, insects, birds, water movement, and seasonal quiet
- Time and scale: Forests that have developed over centuries, even millennia
- Fragmentation and resilience: How roads, logging, and climate change affect intact rainforest systems
- Human relationships: Cultural, historical, and contemporary connections to the ITR
These are starting points, not requirements. We strongly encourage a diversity of perspectives, media, and interpretations, including works that highlight overlooked or invisible aspects of the ecosystem.
Sales, donations, and proceeds
Artwork does not need to be for sale.
If a piece is sold:
- 40% goes to the Art Gallery of Golden (AGOG)
- 20% goes to Wildsight Golden
- 40% goes to the artist
Artists may also choose to:
- Donate their piece to Wildsight Golden
- Forgo the honorarium and/or sale
- Designate that all proceeds go to Wildsight Golden (minus AGOG’s commission), which can be noted on the artwork label
Background reading & learning
Artists are encouraged to explore Wildsight’s work on old growth and the Interior Temperate Rainforest, as well as other relevant resources:
- Webinar recording: Old Growth Logging & Caribou in the Revelstoke Area
- Article: Clear Cut: Saving BC’s Inland Rainforest
- Petition: Protection for BC’s Inland Temperate Rainforest
- Research Brief: Ecosystem Services and British Columbia’s Inland Temperate Rainforest
- Scientific article: Ecological Characteristics of Inland Rain Forests
Timeline
- Expression of Interest deadline: March 16
- Artist selection announced: April 1
- Artists will be selected by the Wildsight Golden Forestry Committee
- The exhibition will be on display August 14 – September 12 at the Art Gallery of Golden
If you’re curious, experimental, passionate about ecology, or simply fascinated by the living systems around Golden — we’d love to see how you interpret the Interior Temperate Rainforest.
Let the forest speak through your work.