LEARNING TO BE BETTER LOVERS, 2025

FOREST THINKING with Katie Holten

Commissioned for the Helsinki Biennial, Learning to be Better Lovers (Forest School) includes forest walks on Vallisaari Island, guided by experts. Download the Learning to be Better Lovers booklet here.

What is the language we need to live right now? How can we learn to be better lovers of the world?

The project was launched on June 8, 2025, during the opening weekend of the Helsinki Biennial when Katie Holten led a forest walk to explore these questions and reflect on the significance of human connection with the more-than-human world as we collectively face the sixth mass extinction.

Katie shared her Forest Alphabet (for Finland), a bespoke font commissioned by the Helsinki Biennial.

The day began with forest breathing and tree drawing exercises. Rooted in discussions of Rights of Nature, Rewilding, Reimagining and Rekindling, Katie shared from her book The Language of Trees. The journey took us deep into Forest Thinking.

FOREST SCHOOL EVENTS

EVERY SATURDAY between June 8 - September 21, 2025, 1-3PM: Forest Alphabet Workshop: Writing Love Letters with the Forest Alphabet

JUNE 8: Forest Walk: Learning to be Better Lovers with Katie Holten

JULY 18: Forest Walk: Looking for lichen with Jouko Rikkinen

AUGUST 8: Forest Walk: Forest as a teacher with Aino Mielikki Maa / Johansson

SEPTEMBER 5: Forest Walk: Forest as a teacher with Aino Mielikki Maa / Johansson

The walks offer an introduction to the island’s nature along with guidance on how to observe the environment.

Art Workshops are free and no advance registration required.

The monthly walking tours are free and open to everyone, registration required.

More info and sign up on the Helsinki Biennial website here.

Learning to Be Better Lovers is the title of Holten’s interconnected body of work comprising Forest Alphabet. Taking inspiration from the island of Vallisaari’s plant and fungi life – from deciduous trees and conifers to lichens and mosses – Holten has created a bespoke TrueType font that is available for free download on the Helsinki Biennial website. By offering Helsinki a reimagined alphabet, Holten invites everyone to join her in exploring the forest ecosystem of Vallisaari and to discover new forms of interspecies storytelling.

Holten has transformed the island’s yellow firefighting depot into a Forest School, which presents material related to her Learning to Be Better Lovers project, her Forest Alphabet drawings, and instructions and tools compiled into a guide. The visitors are also invited to create their own narratives and take part in walks, gatherings, drawing sessions and other events during the biennial. More info, and sign up for events, here.