Your Hearth Summit Journey Continues

Stop 4: ART Stop 4: ART

We’ve now arrived at the final stop on our path—just before we gather, at last, around the HEARTH.

This time, we invite you to wrap yourself in your coziest blanket, let the warmth of the fire embrace you, and allow the gentle crackle of flames to carry you into a dream of a land unlike any other—where we communicate with more than just words as ART rises as the new lingua franca of this global movement.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing important logistical and content details relevant for the on-site experience ahead of us.

With an open heart and no further ado, dobrodošli (welcome) to our:

A Movement Kindled by Art

Hill by hill, we’ve been lighting torches—calling out into the night, gathering the essential elements of this powerful movement.

Today, we carry the torch that honors Art and Culture—two vital sparks that fuel the fire at the heart of the Hearth Summit.

These aren’t background notes or ornamental touches. They are central, foundational forces, woven into every layer of the Summit. Their integration reveals how cultural and artistic expression can serve as powerful vehicles for transformation—helping us reimagine society and inspire bold new pathways toward wellbeing.

Art and culture have never existed apart from society. They are deeply entwined with our collective memory, our healing, and our shared ability to envision a more whole and vibrant future. The Hearth Summit embraces this dynamic relationship, honoring the arts as a living expression of the shared human experience.

At the first edition of our global summit—the Wellbeing Summit for Social Change, held in Bilbao–Biscay, Spain, in 2022—the arts didn’t just play a role: they swept through the city, welcoming dozens of artists, commissioned art pieces, performances, and much more.

This deep understanding also helped set in motion a ripple effect: the birth of the regional Hearth Summits—a movement that, three years later, is still making waves. And now, like sparks rising from a communal flame, they will reunite in Ljubljana.

With a format inspired by the 2022 edition—yet enriched by the gifts of the regional voices who welcomed us into their homes and shared their unique ways—the Hearth Summit’s arts program in Ljubljana promises to ignite new and profound experiences once again.

Feel the Pulse of Art at the HEARTH

Every moment is crafted to animate, energize, and provoke—guiding participants through arts-infused sessions, dynamic workshops, and thought-provoking conversations that spark bold imagination, unbounded innovation, and collaborative creation.

Celebrating a rich mix of voices, the Hearth Summit will amplify an extraordinary range of artistic expressions—placing Slovenian talent at the fiery core of a vibrant global network. Local artists will be key voices, their participation enriching a dynamic tapestry of perspectives from around the world.

Our arts program will honor Ljubljana’s lively artistic heritage while nurturing innovative works that challenge assumptions, foster community, and speak powerfully to our collective wellbeing, ecological belonging, and interconnectedness. This program has been shaped under the artistic direction of Manuel Bagorro, creative advisor at Carnegie Hall, and the creative commissioning of Carrie Barratt, former Deputy Director at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Two newly commissioned works by acclaimed international artists will be unveiled in public spaces across Ljubljana. Created specifically for this gathering, these works are more than art—they are living invitations to reflect, engage, and connect on a deeper level.

The commissioning process began with a profound sense of intentionality. It sparked a global search for artists whose practices speak to the interconnectedness of individual, societal, and planetary wellbeing.

At the heart of this search lies the theme of ecological belonging—a lens through which we explore our place within the natural world, fostering a sense of kinship, responsibility, and unity that transcends borders.

What began as a curatorial journey soon evolved into a collaborative unfolding—commissioning not just new works, but co-creating experiences that breathe life into the spaces between us.

At the Hearth, Art in a Living Invitation

In our search for artists who could give form to the theme of ecological belonging, we found ourselves drawn to the extraordinary work of Chiara Camoni and Cheng Tsung Feng—two artists whose practices bridge the sensual and the symbolic, nature and imagination, presence and possibility.

In the words of Carrie Barratt, curator behind these collaborations:

Chiara Camoni – Tent (2025)

From Piacenza, Italy, Chiara Camoni works with naturally dyed silks and pressed organic materials to create environments that are not merely installations, but immersive invitations to connect—with people, places, and plants. Her practice is alchemical, weaving the softness of nature with the power of sensation and shared presence.

Cheng Tsung Feng – Dragon Nest (2025)

Taiwanese artist Cheng Tsung Feng bridges the past and present through a deep reverence for traditional craft. Rooted in natural materials and cultural memory, his work reimagines ancient techniques through a contemporary lens. Feng uses bamboo and handwoven construction to explore themes of shelter, ritual, and transformation.

These are not just artworks. They are living invitations — to reconnect with the natural world, to remember the wisdom of the body and the land, and to dream into the spaces between us.

Together, Chiara and Feng’s creations do not simply fill space — they stir emotion, awaken the senses, and invite presence. Their works will be woven into the very fabric of the Summit experience. Not as standalone pieces, but as elemental forces within what we will be hearing, tasting, thinking, and feeling. Art, here, becomes the atmosphere of shared heartbeat.

Global Dialogues Through Art

Art crosses borders — and in doing so, it carries new ways of seeing, sensing, and understanding the world. Through vibrant collaborations with local and international cultural partners, the Hearth Summit will pulse with a bold, multidisciplinary energy. These artistic encounters will spark dialogue, offer refuge, and provoke reflection — inviting us into shared moments of beauty, stillness, and deep connection.

Renee van Bavel – Mirror of Peace (2022–continuing)
Based in Berlin, Dutch artist Renee van Bavel creates powerful, timely works that pose urgent questions that asks each of us to reflect on harmony, reconciliation, and the delicate nature of peace — to recognize that peace is not a given, but a fragile, shared responsibility.

Karoline Hjorth and Riitta Ikonen – “Eyes as Big as Plates” (2013-2025)

Karoline Hjorth and Riitta Ikonen are the Norwegian-Finnish artist duo behind Eyes as Big as Plates, an ongoing exploration of relations across beings, challenging conventional narratives on how humans relate to their surroundings across diverse cultures and landscapes. Through a combination of photography, wearable sculpture, action research and activism, the Norwegian-Finnish artist duo calls for a collective and synchronized environmental stewardship.

Alongside these installations, our performing arts program, local artist contributions, and the seamless integration of art into conferences, workshops, and social gatherings ensure that a deeper mode of connection threads through every layer of the Summit.

Each artist was selected not only for the exceptional quality of their work, but also for the depth of their inquiry and their commitment to creating spaces of reflection, healing, and transformation. The curatorial vision led us to artists attuned to the emotional and ecological urgencies of our time—those whose practices blur the boundaries between art-making, care, and community engagement. Whether through performance or participatory workshops, these artists bring with them a distinctive kind of listening—an ability to navigate complexity and cultivate space for authentic connection. This sensibility lies at the very heart of the Hearth Summit.

Threading the Stops on the Road to the Hearth

Art isn’t confined to a gallery or a stage — it’s woven throughout life. And on the Hearth Summit journey, it will accompany us in deep and surprising ways, awakening imagination, presence, and connection.

On our first stop, EARTH, we grounded ourselves in the soil of Slovenia — attuning to the deep roots and ancient symbols of the land. We felt the echo of the dragon’s footsteps, the tremble of myth beneath our feet, and the roar of history calling us to remember where we stand.

On our second stop, HEAR, we turned inward and toward one another — practicing the art of listening: to the rhythms of our own hearts, to the quiet truths of those around us, and to the collective pulse of our community.

On our third stop, HEART, we began to co-create — weaving a shared rhythm from our individual heartbeats. A rhythm of togetherness. A rhythm of belonging.

And on today’s stop, ART, we allow ourselves to expand — to open our senses and perspectives to new ways of seeing, feeling, and imagining. We welcome art not only as expression, but as transformation — a powerful force that connects us to nature, to each other, and to what becomes possible when we dream together.

And now, dear Changemaker, it’s time to climb atop your dragon and take to the skies — soaring from this stop to where you are meant to be: the HEARTH.

You’ll know you’ve arrived when the jagged peaks of the Alps rise on the horizon and the lush green fields of Slovenia stretch out to meet you. There, you and your dragon will land in the heart of an arts-infused gathering unlike any other.

All Roads Lead to the Hearth, but it is not the end. It is our shared road and collective touchpoint — a place and moment to pause, reflect, and renew our collective commitment to this living, breathing movement.

We invite you to open your heart to what’s ahead — to let art, and every spontaneous as well as curated experience, infuse your journey with presence and purpose.

Let it move you. Let it move through you. Let it become a bridge: