FAQ

THE FOREST–COMMON GROUND®

Frequently Asked Questions

What is The Forest – Common Ground®?

The Forest – Common Ground ® is an art installation comprising photographic images of trees from across Canada and throughout the world. There are two components to the initiative – the first being a Canadian national forest, and the second an International forest.

The images will coexist as two separate unified forests, creating an immersive experience and emphasizing a strong forest is a diverse forest. The Canadian forest will have more than 200 trees presented in two complementary, though distinct "styles", with at least five from each of the ten provinces and 3 territories.

The schedule for the Canadian forest exhibition is not yet available. Images will be solicited from Canadian photographers through to the end of 2021 (submission deadline extended from end of 2020 due to Covid challenges), develop the exhibition and be ready to launch in Edmonton in the summer of 2027/28 at the Convention Centre (approx. 15-day exhibition). Other Canadian exhibition sites will then follow. The date for the call for submissions for the International forest has not been determined.

Please note videos on this website refer to a submission closing date of December 31, 2020 and a tentative exhibition date of the summer of 2022. Due to Covid challenges, design and construction requirements, image processing and numerous other project initiatives, these have been extended to December 31, 2021 and 2027/28 respectively.

Why is the installation being created?

The Forest – Common Ground ® showcases an important aspect of our natural landscape and the forest as both sanctuary and sustainer – supporting a diverse, strong and accepting community of common understanding of who we are and where we want to go.

How can I participate in helping to build the forest?

A call for submissions has been issued to photographers (amateur and professional) from across Canada to submit digital images to create the final Canadian forest exhibit (the submission call date for the International forest exhibit has not yet been determined). Photographers must follow precise guidelines to ensure the quality and consistency of images (e.g. use a professional grade DSLR camera of at least 18 megapixels). Submitted work will be curated and the selected images will be integrated into the final art installation. Selected Photographers will share in the success of the exhibits (see How are the Selected Photographers Compensated? below).

Further detail as to the Photographer Guidelines and Rules may be found on this website under Submissions and Rules respectively.

You or your organization can also participate as a sponsor – please refer to the Sponsor tab for general information or contact us through the form on the Contact page if you would like to discuss further.

Who can participate and submit images?

A photographer must be 18 years of age or older at the time of entry and have personally photographed and solely own the images submitted. Also:
(a) for the Canadian forest, the photographer must be a Canadian citizen/permanent resident of Canada and resident in the province/territory in which the tree being submitted is located (e.g. if the image is of a tree in Ontario, Canada, the photographer must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada and resident in Ontario)
(b) for the International forest, the photographer must be a citizen/permanent resident of, and resident in, the country in which the tree being submitted is located (e.g. if the image is of a tree in Kenya, the photographer must be a citizen or permanent resident of, and resident in, Kenya)

How many tree images can a photographer submit?

Photographers can submit up to a maximum of 5 individual trees. Any number of such submitted images (0 through 5) may be selected for inclusion in the project. Photographers may suggest a name (one word) for each tree image submitted.

What are the ways in which a photographer can participate?

Canadian photographers can be selected for the Canadian forest, the International Forest or for sale as a separate image, whereas photographers outside of Canada may be selected for the International Forest and/or separate image categories.

How should the trees be photographed?

To ensure the quality and consistency of images, Photographers must use digital cameras only and follow the parameters found on this website under the Submissions tab.

How are images selected?

Submission is a three-stage process:

Photographers must create a “stitched” or “auto-aligned” jpeg version of his/her images of the tree with Photoshop 2019/20. Once aligned, flattened and reduced in size to below 10 MB the final jpeg image should be submitted by using the Submit Entry button on this website. The submitted jpeg image will be reviewed to determine its suitability for further consideration.
After review of the submitted stitched jpeg, if selected the photographer will be requested, via email, to upload the unedited, unstitched TIFF files (converted from the RAW images to 8 Bit) of each image comprising the tree to a secure Dropbox site.
The TIFF images will be edited (alignment and various photoshop filters) to create the final work product. Photographers will then be advised as to whether their submission has been accepted for inclusion in the Initiative.

Further detail as to the submission requirements for the images may be found on this website under the Submissions tab.

How many trees will be accepted for each forest?

The Canadian forest will have at least 200 trees, being at least five from each of the ten provinces and 3 territories. The International forest will have at least 193 trees, being one from each country recognized as such by the United Nations, and such other territories and de jure sovereign states (e.g. Greenland, Palestine, etc.) as the initiative organizers may determine. There is no limit on the number of trees which may be selected for sale as a single image. Further, the final number of trees may vary from the targeted totals.

Who owns the submitted images?

Photographers retain sole ownership of the original submitted and unedited images and may use them for their personal or professional use, subject to not using such images to reproduce an image similar in likeness, size and materials to the final tree used in the exhibition. Please note any of such images in the possession of FCGI will not be retained by FCGI after processing thereof.

What will you do with the images submitted?

The submitted images will be edited for the purposes of creating a single tree and incorporated in the Canadian forest, International forest or made available for sale as a single image.

Who owns the final image used in the exhibition?

The Forest – Common Ground Inc., the company established to manage the overall initiative, owns the final images used in the exhibits and/or are made available for sale.

How are the selected Photographers compensated?

Selected photographers will receive a proportionate share of various revenues generated by the initiative, including a portion of: exhibition and associated retail sales generated by the forest in which their image was used; revenues generated by the sale of the entire forest in which their image was used; and, revenues generated by the sale of that photographer’s tree if sold as a single image, whether as a standalone sale or part of a group. Photographers are not responsible for any of the costs associated with producing, shipping and displaying the exhibition.

Photographers will also have an opportunity to: purchase up to 5 of each tree comprised of their submitted images prior to the same being made available for sale to the general public at retail, less 10%; and, purchase any or all of his/her unsold images at any time from two months after the date of the first public exhibition upon the same terms and conditions.

The Photographer shall be responsible for all shipping and associated costs (excluding production costs) for any image purchased.

Further detail as to the compensation and excluded revenues may be found on this website under the Rules tab.

Up until when will submissions be accepted?

Submissions for the Canadian forest will be accepted up to December 31, 2021 (extended from 2020 to 2021 due to Covid challenges). The submission date for the International forest has not yet been determined. The Forest – Common Ground Inc. may amend the submission deadline in any way, whether by terminating the time for submissions early or extending such date.

What if I want to purchase a piece of art?

Once the final images for The Forest have been selected, they will be included in the website. At that time, we will have available limited edition full-sized metallic paper prints mounted on acrylic of each Forest image. The art comes ready to hang - complete with a wooden back frame so it stands out from the wall 1 1/2" and hardware.

Shipping of art pieces within Canada is free!! International buyers should use the Contact Page form to ask for a quote.

Please note images are numbered and sold sequentially 1 through 10. Plus, all art sales, given they are made-to-order, are final.

What will The Forest - Common Ground do with its profits from the exhibition?

The Forest – Common Ground ® is committed to the sustainment and re-establishment of forests in Canada and throughout the world for the current and future generations. That is why we will be donating our net Canadian exhibition and retail proceeds to support the efforts of various charitable organizations dedicated to reforestation, environmental preservation and climate change initiatives in Canada.

FAQ