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THANK YOU to all the amazing donors who helped us reach our initial fundraising goal. So grateful for your support!

progress as of 9/13/25

Images from left to right: mound 70% covered with fill dirt over log base; log base of mound; animal-powered cultivation of field

Domestic Rewilding is a series of earthworks throughout the midwestern United States. Often taking form as a garden, the earthworks consist of pollinator/native plant species and eco-conscious aesthetic elements. Framed through the lens of socially engaged art and principles of ecofeminism, each work is fabricated, maintained, and activated through collaborative interspecies labor: from a team of oxen hauling materials, human hands planting beneficial species, to the labor of pollinator insects maintaining the site. Each iteration utilizes directed and open-ended forms of eco-participation by human, plant, animal, and insect. The project carries an overarching goal to point towards the interconnectedness of nonhuman and human worlds and the capacity of art to push violent histories up against one anoth­er in unconventional ways.

The flagship iteration, located on the public grounds of the Illinois State University Horticulture Center,
​is positioned as a living land acknowledgment. 

Please send an email to ruthkburke @ gmail.com to learn more, or sign up for the mailing list on the Contact page!

Projects are currently underway/growing in:
Steuben, Wisconsin (Commissioned through 4Ground Land Art Biennial)​
Normal, Illinois (Illinois State University Horticulture Center; in collaboration with Dr. Shannon Epplett)
Street Road Artists' Space, Cochranville, PA

If your organization is interested in hosting, funding, or collaborating on a site-specific iteration of Domestic Rewilding,
please contact artist Ruth Burke

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