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Ackroyd & Harvey

@ackroydharvey

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Artists creating multi-disciplinary works that intersect art, activism, photography, biology, ecology & history.

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On this episode of Art of Interference, host Jennifer Gutman speaks with British creative duo Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey about their pioneering grass portraits and the role of visual art in climate activism. She also talks with Vanderbilt professor Zee Tzankova and grassland conservationist Jeremy French about the environmental costs of chemically intensive lawncare and the importance of protecting and restoring critical grassland habitats. Grass may serve as the backdrop to summer picnics and kickball games, but the artists, scientists, and conservationists featured in this episode highlight the ways grass connects us to each other and to the basic, life-sustaining processes of all living things.

Link in bio

Art of Interference @artofinterference explores creative responses to climate change. We feature artists whose work encourages us to retune the relations of nature and technology, the human and the more-than-human. We ask climate scientists about their research and how it chimes with the interventions of contemporary artists. Additionally, we speak to activists, cultural critics, and policymakers about the need to develop a new ethics appropriate to our twenty-first century of planetary crisis.

@ackroydharvey
@culturedeclares
@segrassland
@biennalesdyney
@ecoartspace
@rewild
@earthlyeducation
@what_is_missing
@appalachian_org
@southernenvironment
@tectnorg
@neighbors4nativeplants
@grndswell
@seedmob
@seedingsovereignty
@audubonsociety
@landtrusttn by @ackroydharvey

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2 months ago

A Circle of Oaks, August 2026.

One of the driest summers on record has left the surrounding landscape scorched and brown.

Irrigation sustaining the young oaks has kept the ground around them green, making the severity of the surrounding drought starkly visible from above.

A living circle within a parched landscape. by @ackroydharvey

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2 months ago

Delighted to have been awarded the Cherry Kearton Medal and Award from Royal Geographical Society @rgs_ibg for our multi-decadal practice at the boundary between sculpture, photography and environmental knowledge production.

Professor Joe Smith, Director of the Royal Geographical Society, said:

“It is our great privilege to recognise such an outstanding group of scholars, researchers, explorers and conservationists for our 2026 medals and awards. This year’s recipients are recognised for deepening our understanding of our world, its people, and the processes that shape it. We celebrate their contribution to geographical science and we know that such recognition inspires further achievement and sparks curiosity.”

Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey, joint recipients of the 2026 Cherry Kearton Award, said:

“What a wonderful and unexpected surprise to be awarded this medal - we feel very honored to be in such distinguished company.”

Photo credit: @shaylorphoto by @ackroydharvey

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5 months ago

Seeing Red.. Overdrawn David Attenborough Building, Cambridge, 2016

Wishing Sir David Attenborough a wonderful 100th birthday! Here he is a decade ago, making his mark on our work ‘Seeing Red.. Overdrawn’ in the building that bears his name.

Seeing Red.. Overdrawn depicts thousands of Critically Endangered species from the IUCN Red List, their names printed faintly on canvas. Visitors are invited to over-write one name with indelible pen, bringing it into sharp focus.

Sir David chose to over-draw the Attenborough's pitcher plant (Nepenthes attenboroughii), the world's largest carnivorous plant. Discovered in 2007 & named after him, it is one of the planet's Critically Endangered species.

Thank you, Sir David, for a lifetime of work that has profoundly shaped our understanding and protection of the planet’s biodiversity.

#DavidAttenborough100 #IUCNRedList #NatureLegacy #AttenboroughPitcherPlant taken in David Attenborough Building Cambridge by @ackroydharvey

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5 months ago

Welcome to your new home, oak tree! For Earth Day, we’re celebrating this young oak as the newest permanent resident of our woodland.

This oak tree is part of Ackroyd & Harvey’s on-going Beuys’ Acorns project, through which the artists have nurtured acorns they collected into thriving young trees. The artists are planting many circles of seven trees in urban public spaces and in partnership with cultural venues. This single oak tree at Orleans House Gallery is a sister tree to one of these circles, recently sited on Hampton Common.

Now the trees are planted, rooted into the land and rooted with the people of Richmond upon Thames. The ongoing project follows Beuys’ legacy and intention for the work: these living sculptures foster a reciprocal ecology between plants and humans with the trees at the centre. These local oak trees are part of our Cultural Reforesting programme.

Find out more about Cultural Reforesting on our website.

@ackroydharvey #EarthDay by @ackroydharvey

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6 months ago

Film screening of ‘Ackroyd & Harvey: The Art of Activism’ took place last evening at the Pavilion, Bastion Bungalow.

Directed by Fiona Cunningham-Reid, the documentary provides an intimate look at the work of Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey. Their practice bridges the gaps between art, activism, biology, and ecology, showing how creative collaboration can address the environmental crises of our time. The film captures their journey in turning artistic expression into a catalyst for ecological reflection and change.

#KochiMuzirisBiennale #KochiBiennaleFoundation #ForTheTimeBeing #NikhilChopra #KMB2025 taken in Bastion Bungalow, Department of Archaeology. by @ackroydharvey

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8 months ago

🛸 Did you spot a UFO over Thamesmead yesterday? 🤔 An unidentified flying oak, to be precise.

💡 The illuminated tree lit up the skies above Crossway Park before being gradually lowered into the ground.

✨ @thamesmeadcommunitychoir was in full voice, while local children sprinkled a little magic around the roots to help the tree grow as the local community gathered for the dramatic completion of the town's new oak circle.

If you weren't able to make it, enjoy a selection of photos from the spectacular ceremonial planting of @ackroydharvey's new artwork as part of @lbofbexley's #NightVisions festival.

Follow the link in our bio to get the full story. by @ackroydharvey

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9 months ago

Missed this years Goethe Annual Lecture? Good news: The recoding is now online! ✨🌱

The artist duo Ackroyd & Harvey have been working together since 1990, earning international recognition for their pioneering eco-activist art.

In the lecture, they reflect on how German artist Joseph Beuys‘ iconic land artwork ‘7000 Oaks’ shaped their own artistic journey, inspiring them to grow hundreds of trees from Beuys’ acorns and spark community engagement across the UK.

Follow the link in our bio to watch the full recording 👆

About the Goethe Annual Lecture:
The Goethe Annual Lecture invites acclaimed speakers to share their perspectives on themes that we, at the Goethe-Institut London, explore through our cultural work, and on the most pressing issues that societies are facing in the UK, Germany and worldwide.

#GoetheAnnualLecture #GoetheInstitutLondon #AckroydAndHarvey taken in Goethe-Institut London by @ackroydharvey

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10 months ago

Introducing three new print series:
SPRING LEAVES, AUTUMN LEAVES and GALL INK LEAF PRINT from Beuys’ Acorns.

Now available to purchase through SALES link in bio and in-store at @sainsburycentreshop & @groundworkgallery. by @ackroydharvey

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10 months ago

Remember the grass skirt and the grass underground in Paris for my ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ video ? What about the artwork for my album ‘Love and Pain’? All created by my dear friends Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey. This Saturday at the Kino Theatre there are two showings of a film made about Heather and Dan and their activism. I saw the premier at ‘The Tate’ so I can absolutely recommend it. Here is the ticket link : https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/kinoteatr/e-ledvrl See you there . by @ackroydharvey

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a year ago

Continually in awe of the interrelationships between species - wasps, oaks, humans - and art. 🍂

Oak galls are formed when gall wasps lay eggs on oak trees. Galls have been used to make natural ink for manuscripts since Roman times - they are rich in tannins, so act as both a mordant and a dye.

There are over 70 species of gall wasp in the UK, each forming a different shape and size of gall. The galls cause no long term damage to oaks and are part of the biodiversity that a healthy tree supports.

Don’t gather them if they’re still green as you’ll kill the larvae - wait until they are brown and there are tiny holes in the exterior shell, or til they’ve fallen to the floor, meaning the larvae have hatched.

📍If you’re interested in finding out more about oak galls, join us at @lynn_museum on 1st November - we’re running a leaf printing workshop and will talk through the process of making ink. Link in bio! by @ackroydharvey

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a year ago

🌿 It’s Not Easy Being Green
Season 5: Live from 7 October (UK) & 14 October (Brazil) @artichoketrust

Protector series, featuring grass photosynthesis portraits of musician Marcus Decker, Indigenous activist Josimara Baré and poet performer Zena Edwards.

Marcus is threatened with deportation following a prison sentence for scaling the QE2 Dartford Crossing;

Josimara advocates for the autonomy and institutional strength of the Indigenous communities of Roraima, Brazil;

Zena embraces the poetic word to express feelings she has for the awesomeness and drama the world has to offer.

Featured on billboards across the UK and Brazil - keep an eye out, and if you see one, tag us! by @ackroydharvey

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a year ago