Social Forest: Oaks of Tovaangar is inspired by Joseph Beuys’s influential work 7000 Eichen (7000 Oaks). Beuys’s action began in 1982 and involved planting 7,000 trees accompanied by stone markers throughout Kassel, Germany as a means to collectively reckon with the traumas of World War II.

Centering the unique cultural, historical, and environmental context of Los Angeles, Social Forest brings new meaning to this reforestation action four decades later, in a vastly different landscape that also demands reconciliation. Centering environmental repair and confronting historical trauma,the title Social Forest expresses the connection between humans and the environment, while Oaks of Tovaangar names the land in the Tongva (Gabrielino) language. Social Forest is shaped in partnership with Tongva leaders in recognition of the deep history of the Tongva people and celebrates their thrivance—their radical prosperity and resistance, beyond base survival.

To plant 100 native oak trees in Elysian Park, The Broad has partnered with North East Trees, a community-based non-profit that engages in conservation projects throughout the city of Los Angeles. At Kuruvungna Village Springs, a sacred Tongva site, five oak trees will be planted, supporting the Gabrielino Tongva Springs Foundation’s work to restore and steward this important site while nurturing Tongva culture and history.