The Forest: When Art, Science, and Wellbeing Meet in Cagliari
Cagliari’s Opificio Innova becomes the stage for an encounter between art, science, and wellbeing. The event The Forest: Dialogues between Art, Science, and Wellbeing places the forest at the center of a shared reflection on human connection with nature and technology.
On November 17, Cagliari’s Opificio Innova becomes the stage for an encounter between art, science, and wellbeing. The event The Forest: Dialogues between Art, Science, and Wellbeing places the forest at the center of a shared reflection on human connection with nature and technology.
From 5 to 8 PM, the spaces of Sa Manifattura (Viale Regina Margherita 33) will host exhibitions, debates, and a documentary screening, inviting visitors to explore new ways of relating to trees, data, and consciousness. The initiative is promoted by OpenAzienda, +Alberi, and Opificio Innova.
Art as a Living Landscape
The evening opens with the collective exhibition +Alberi, conceived and curated by Antonella Arca. Artists Luca Spano, Marcello Cualbu, Carla Monni, Lorenza Pisano, Gustavo Gini, Paolo Pilia, and Francesco Sogos reinterpret the forest as a hybrid space — part real, part digital — where technology and organic life coexist.
The exhibition does not simply celebrate nature; it invites participation. Through CyberForest, a project born from +Alberi, visitors can contribute their own sounds, images, and data, helping a digital forest grow in real time. It is a poetic and technological attempt to recreate the emotional and sensory density of the woods.
Science and Forest Therapy
After the inauguration, the event shifts to dialogue. A round table will bring together researchers and artists to discuss forest therapy, artificial intelligence, and the physiological impact of nature on human health. The goal is to translate the scientific knowledge behind forest environments into concrete tools for wellbeing.
Among the speakers are Tania Re (UNESCO Chair, Universities of Genoa and Salerno), Francesco Meneguzzo (CNR – Institute for BioEconomy), Marco Galaverni (Scientific Director, WWF Italy), and Piermarco Porcu (Connessi con le Radici). Their combined experience spans environmental science, healthcare, and ecological design, bridging laboratory research and sensory experience.
The Forest Code: The Science of Connection
One of the event’s highlights is the screening of Il Codice del Bosco (The Forest Code), a documentary by Alessandro Bernard and Paolo Ceretto. The film follows a scientific and philosophical expedition into the forest’s hidden intelligence. Researchers Alessandro Chiolerio and Monica Gagliano explore how trees communicate electrically, leading to the publication “Bioelectrical synchronization of Picea abies during a solar eclipse” in Royal Society Open Science — a study that sparked global debate across more than 70 academic papers.
CyberForest: When Trees Become Data
Behind the scenes of this research lies CyberForest, developed by the Sardinian company OpenAzienda. Using devices called CyberTree, researchers measure the bioelectrical signals of trees, translating them into data that reveal the forest’s invisible rhythms. The project aims to establish a network of interdisciplinary laboratories within forests, where art, science, and environmental awareness meet.
As urban life grows increasingly detached from natural cycles, The Forest: Dialogues between Art, Science, and Wellbeing offers a grounded yet visionary reflection: the forest as laboratory, sanctuary, and shared consciousness.
