“The People’s Tree” will also incorporate the tree’s wood and archive recordings from the public in a series of community artworks
The sycamore tree before it was felled in 2023. National Trust Images / John Millar
A new multimedia artwork will honor the life, beauty and impact of the Sycamore Gap’s iconic tree, which in fall 2023 was illegally felled in an act of vandalism inside England’s Northumberland National Park.
The People’s Tree , a sprawling sound experience planned for multiple locations, was the favorite from a shortlist of six finalists in a contest announced last fall that called for proposals exploring the themes of connection to nature, memory, place or community.…
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/e6/55/e655452d-b48c-4104-ba77-1f589e73ddf4/view_towards_the_sycamore_gap_tree_on_hadrians_wall_in_northumberland_before_it_was_illegally.jpg)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/accounts/headshot/ChristianThorsberg_Headshot.png)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/2f/b4/2fb48a0a-8a1a-4f19-a135-9f67296b9db2/the_story_of_the_people_visual_c_-__image_credit_gka_and_helix_arts_2026.png)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/41/3f/413f6c39-266c-4e44-ae78-39e174102b3f/gka_turntable_01_image_credit_gka_and_helix_arts_2026.jpg)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/21/a8/21a8aedb-e0db-48d7-bafa-6d53c96e7936/new_shoots_growing_for_the_third_consecutive_year_at_the_sycamore_gap_stump_photographed_earli.jpg)