Katie Holten (b. 1975) is an Irish-born artist and activist who interweaves ecology, environmental activism, language and literature in a career now spanning over two decades.
At the root of her practice is a dedication to fighting the climate crisis and the biodiversity emergency. Holten’s works foreground the entangled history of plant life and humans. Our reciprocity with plants is an enduring part of human civilization, yet the Anthropocene has radically transformed our relationship with the vegetal world. The artist seeks to foster a new understanding of human-plant relations and to heal our fractured bonds with the Earth in the midst of an existential emergency that stems largely from human alienation from nature.
Photo: Dillon Cohen
Katie Holten: Learning To Be Better Lovers (Forest Alphabet), 2025, detail. Helsinki Biennial 8.6.–21.9.2025, Esplanade Park. Photo: HAM / Helsinki Biennial / Henni Hyvärinen
Katie Holten: Learning To Be Better Lovers (Forest School), 2025, detail. Helsinki Biennial 8.6.–21.9.2025, Vallisaari Island. Photo: HAM / Helsinki Biennial / Maija Toivanen
Artwork locations: Esplanade Park and Vallisaari Island
Learning to Be Better Lovers is the title of Holten’s interconnected body of work comprising Forest Alphabet. Taking inspiration from Vallisaari’s plant and fungi life – from deciduous trees and conifers to lichens and mosses – Holten has created a bespoke TrueType typeface that is available for free download on the Helsinki Biennial website. By offering Helsinki a reimagined alphabet, Holten invites everyone to join her in exploring the forest ecosystem of Vallisaari and to discover new forms of interspecies storytelling.
Holten has transformed the island’s yellow firefighting depot into a Forest School, which presents material related to her Learning to Be Better Lovers project, her Forest Alphabet drawings, and instructions and tools compiled into a guide. The visitors are also invited to create their own narratives and take part in walks, gatherings, drawing sessions and other events during the biennial.
The artwork production is supported by Culture Ireland.