d.Tree Studio 2020 - present

The d.Tree Studio is an experimental woodworking atelier arising from a collaboration between The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History (led by Chief Sustainability Officer, Leslie Tom) and College for Creative Studies (led by Ian Lambert) in Detroit. In this first phase of the project, three dying Zelkova trees on the Museum’s campus, destined for mulching, were redirected to a project exploring climate change, climate justice and African American material culture through the creation of narrative artefacts. The work was exhibited in Detroit in 2022, although the project is ongoing. Planning has started for a new phase that uses systems thinking and data mapping on trees across the city to inform site-specific narratives and adaptive works made from retrieved urban wood. www.dtree.me

Ian Lambert, with Leslie Tom (The Wright Museum)