The forest industry has traditionally played a major role in the structural changes of society and land use in Finland and in recent decades also in Uruguay. Forest as a Geopolitical Stage is a Finnish-Uruguayan art and research initiative. It emerged at a time when a Finnish-led multinational corporation opened a new single-line pulp mill – the largest in the world – in Uruguay. The company practices monoculture by establishing more and more massive eucalyptus plantations in the country. At the same time Finland is looking for ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and halt the loss of biodiversity at home. This state of affairs repeats the dynamic, rooted in colonialism, between the global north and the global south.
In Uruguay, Finland's role in the country's structural changes is much debated, but in Finland the public discussion on forests focuses on domestic aspects of logging and conservation. The Forest as a Geopolitical Stage initiative collaborates across borders and exposes, through art, how geopolitical forces affect land use, livelihoods, cultures and social relations. It builds connections between people, communities and environments on different continents.
Together with The National Theatre of Finland, the Forest as a Geopolitical Stage initiative co-produces the performance Metsä Furiosa by the Uruguayan theatre director and playwright Marianella Morena. The theatre and the project are also co-organisers of a public event curated by Satu Herrala in March 2024. The initiative has also produced a prison theatre project in Uruguay directed by Jussi Lehtonen and a documentary film by Juan Alvarez Neme, which tells the story of four inmates participating in the theatre production. You can find more information about the initiative on this site – feel free to explore!
