The Tree Museum

The Tree Museum was established in 1997 and is a site set on the pre Cambrian shield amidst the cottage county-side of Muskoka. It is located on Ryde Lake near the town of Gravenhurst. The site is undeveloped and includes both waterfront and forest. For the participating artists, this opportunity represents a rare occasion to realize major outdoor artworks in an uncultivated environment. At any given time there are 10 to 15 works on site. The site is open year round and entrance to the site is free of charge.

Between 1998-2012, 80 artists, both National and International, have created unique projects relating to the site of the Tree Museum. These works engage the complex reality of the relationship between man and nature; adoration, reliance, and exploitation. Collectively, the projects explore concepts of identity, memory and territory in respect to nature and natural processes, while underscoring the imbalance that characterizes our current relationship to the environment.

We are also cognisant of our responsibility as conservators of the land where the work is created. Eighty percent of the pathways are temporary and as the work disappears, or is removed, so too is all evidence of its presence. Some of the works are permanent and others are of a transitory nature, with the elements and nature determining their life span. We tread very lightly on the land.