October 2-3, 2026
Yale University
406 Prospect Street
New Haven, CT
Film Screening & Discussion
October 2, 2026 at 6:30pm-8:30pm
Workshop
October 3, 2026 at 11am-12:30pm
All Trees Bear Witness: Colonial Histories, Climate Breakdown, and Sonic Experiments in Silvic Storytelling is a two-part program which explores narratives of colonialism and climate change through the biodata sonification of witness trees—woody subjects who have experienced significant events in history. The program recognizes trees as affective beings capable of communicating not only their aliveness, but also their experience of events that occur within and against their ecosystems across varying temporalities. All Trees Bear Witness approaches these silvic stories through artistic applications of biodata sonification. That is, through the use of specialized devices which translate the biological processes of an organism into sound. The novel approach presents humans with opportunities for deep listening engagement with the more-than-human and even for interspecies musicking.
All Trees Bear Witness is convened by Tyler Mark Nelson. Speakers and artists for the two-day event include Daniel Bachman, Cliff Chambliss, III, and Willow Gatewood, the latter of whom also facilitates today's biodata sonification workshop.
Sponsored by the Yale Institute of Sacred Music's Religion, Ecology, and Expressive Culture Initiative.