Disturbance, A Forest In Motion: A Youth Art and Ecology Event
Disturbance, A Forest In Motion
Stables Gallery, October 1-5, 2026
DISTURBANCE A Forest In Motion: A Youth Art and Ecology Event: a four-day community engagement and education event that combines art, fire ecology, professional development, and public events through an immersive art installation created by up to 600 students from across Northern New Mexico: Taos, Questa, Penasco, Red River, Penasco, Dixon, Ojo Sarco, Picuris Pueblo and Taos Pueblo
Presented at The Taos Center for the Arts Stables Gallery this multi-site experience centers youth voices and regional ecological knowledge within a professional public context. Students transform fire ecology learning into a walk-through forest environment exploring growth, density, disturbance, regeneration, and ecological balance.
Art event: “DISTURBANCE A Forest In Motion”: October 1-4th. Artby Northern New Mexican 4-6th grade youth.
STEAM Day for Students: Thursday, October 1st- 100 youth explore guided tours of the installation, fire ecology education, hands-on art activities with artists and educators.
Professional STEAM Development for Educators: Friday, October 2nd- In partnership with Collaborative Teacher Institute and Imagine Children's Museum, offering free full-day workshops for regional educators, focused on arts integration, place-based learning, environmental education.
Public Opening Event: Friday, October 2nd- Installation opens to the community: guided tours, artist talks, about wildfire, resilience, and environmental stewardship.
Weekend Community Programming: October 3rd-4th- Throughout the weekend: Youth led free tours, hands-on art-making, and interactive experiences
Community Impact: By combining science, creativity, and public participation, Disturbance transforms student learning into a community experience that increases understanding of fire ecology, forest regeneration, and the changing landscapes of Northern New Mexico.
The Paseo Disturbance Education Program: https://paseoproject.org/disturbance-education-2026
Four-Day Public Event Structure
October 1- STEAM Day (Students)
Regional STEAM experience for ~150 students
Immersive exploration of the youth installation
Hands-on art-making and fire ecology learning
Artist and Paseo Intern engagement
October 2- Educator Professional Development + Public Opening
Full-day educator institute in partnership with the Collaborative Teacher Institute and Imagine Children’s Museum
Evening public opening with tours, artist talks, and interactive programming
October 3-5- Public Exhibition Days
Open community access to the installation
Guided tours and youth-led interpretation
Hands-on art stations and ecological learning activities
Program Themes
Students are exploring:
Fire as a natural and necessary part of forest systems
What a healthy/historical forest looks like
Forest density, fuel loads, and regeneration
Community stewardship and resilience
Indigenous and scientific perspectives on fire ecology
The curriculum uses:
embodied learning
role-play
movement
systems-based games
collaborative discussion
sensory exploration
to help students understand the complexity of fire-adapted ecosystems in Northern New Mexico.
Student Experience
During the first classroom visit, students:
Build “living forests” with their bodies
Simulate overcrowded and healthy forests
Explore how fire spreads through different fuel conditions
Discuss the emotional and ecological realities of wildfire
Learn about regeneration and forest succession
During the second visit, students:
Respond artistically to ecological concepts
Create collaborative visual artworks
Develop pieces that will become part of a larger immersive community installation
Student Artwork in Development
Current student-created projects include:
mind maps and ecological systems drawings
word art created from student-generated fire ecology vocabulary
recycled plastic fire sculptures made from water bottles
cyanotypes
charcoal and ash drawings
pinch pots created with reclaimed local clay
ecological species studies
collaborative canopy and yarn web elements
The work combines:
science
ecology
systems thinking
storytelling
visual art
sensory experience
Youth Art Installation + Public Experience
The youth-created installation becomes a large-scale immersive ecological environment where visitors physically move through interconnected forest systems.
The current installation vision includes:
five ecological zones: growth, density, fire, regeneration, and return
suspended forest structures and sculptural elements
ecological webs and species drawings
soundscapes created with students
light and sensory installations
interactive participation stations
Visitors will move through ecological phases exploring:
growth
overcrowding
disturbance
after-fire transformation
regrowth
stewardship and balance
Interactive components may include:
planting seeds
contributing artwork
answering prompts such as:
“What is a healthy forest?”
“What role do humans play in forest systems?”
“What does resilience look like?”
The installation invites audiences to reconsider fire not simply as destruction, but as part of a living ecological cycle.
Become a Disturbance with us
Interested in hosting, supporting, or partnering with Disturbance: A Forest in Motion (2026)?
We welcome collaboration with schools, cultural institutions, scientists, artists, and community organizations committed to youth education, ecological literacy, and place-based learning.
