Natalia Nakazawa, Pioneers Go East Collective, Rowan Renee, Catherine Telford-Keogh, Zipporah Camille Thompson. “The Socrates Annual 2025” is the culmination of Socrates Sculpture Park’s fellowship program, awarded to artists selected through an Open Call. Since 2001, the fellowship program has supported early career artists who receive financial and technical support to realize ambitious public artworks to be included in a park-wide exhibition.

The 2025 Artist Fellows Natalia Nakazawa, Pioneers Go East Collective, Rowan Renee, Catherine Telford-Keogh, and Zipporah Camille Thompson responded to the theme “Up/rooted,” which explores the complexities of uprooting species for long-term sustainability and resilience. The term “uprooted” evokes the tension between dislocation and resilience. “Up” signifies the act of lifting away, while “root” refers to the hidden systems below the ground—anchoring life and absorbing essential nutrients. This duality invites us to reflect on the implications of relocation and adaptation, exploring how when done thoughtfully it can foster new growth and understanding. In what ways can we foster regeneration while acknowledging and mitigating the losses within our ecological and social landscapes? How might we navigate the delicate balance between ecological preservation and community needs to create a more resilient future?

In addition to sculpture and installation, the Socrates Annual Fellowship presents performance and community-driven programming. These multi-disciplinary approaches to the theme creatively engage overlooked areas of the Park, inviting an upward gaze—into the trees, and overhead. How might lifting your eyes to the canopy and sky reveal connections between the unseen, nourishing systems underground and the expansive possibilities above? “As above, so below…”