La Foresta

About the project

Brave New Alps, founded in 2005 by Bianca Elzenbaumer and Fabio Franz, is a collective that combines participatory design, radical pedagogy, and DIY culture to confront pressing social and environmental challenges. One of their most significant initiatives is La Foresta, a community academy established in 2017. Conceived as a space for collective research and experimentation, La Foresta embodies a political and ecological programme that embraces the complexity of interdependence. Its name reflects multiple meanings: the forest as a thriving ecosystem, a refuge for alternative practices, and in local dialect, the “female foreigner,” reminding participants of the need to centre marginalised voices.

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Group photo at La Foresta, 2022. La Foresta by Brave New Alps (2017 – ongoing). Courtesy of Brave New Alps. Photo: Fabio Franz.

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Library and workshop space at La Foresta, 2023. La Foresta by Brave New Alps (2017 – ongoing). Courtesy of Brave New Alps. Photo: Fabio Franz.

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Eco Lab with Fahad Ali, 2023. La Foresta by Brave New Alps (2017 – ongoing). Courtesy of Brave New Alps. Photo: Paulina Mimberg.

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Building a basecamp, 2020. La Foresta by Brave New Alps (2017 – ongoing). Courtesy of Brave New Alps. Photo: Bianca Elzenbaumer.

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An evening with the roving bread oven Forno Vagabondo, 2022. La Foresta by Brave New Alps (2017 – ongoing). Courtesy of Brave New Alps. Photo: Flora Mammana.

At La Foresta, diverse practitioners (including designers, agroecologists, filmmakers, educators, anthropologists, and activists) collaborate to cultivate transformative practices. The academy has generated a wide array of initiatives: community-led learning spaces that treat mental health as a commons; a feminist-inspired forest school; participatory beverage production exploring alternative economies; a mobile bread oven fostering relationships with local farmers; community gardens and environmental education for children; feminist sexual education programmes; and a variety of cultural events. These activities bring together multiple demographics, fostering generosity, openness, and intercultural exchange.

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Station for Transformation – plans for transforming the train station of Rovereto into a public-civic hub to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss, 2024. La Foresta by Brave New Alps (2017 – ongoing). Courtesy of Brave New Alps.

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Forno Vagabondo – baking bread in public spaces to imagine agro-ecological futures, 2020. La Foresta by Brave New Alps (2017 – ongoing). Courtesy of Brave New Alps.

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A tutto bosco – exploring biodiversity in deep time, 2021. La Foresta by Brave New Alps (2017 – ongoing). Courtesy of Brave New Alps.

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The Interdependence – Community Economies Retreat, Terragnolo Valley, 2019. La Foresta by Brave New Alps (2017 – ongoing). Courtesy of Brave New Alps.

About the artist

Brave New Alps, established in 2005 by Bianca Elzenbaumer and Fabio Franz, is a collective based in northern Italy focused on participatory design, radical pedagogy, and DIY culture to tackle social and environmental issues. Their approach prioritizes community engagement and eco-social design, facilitating workshops, events, and research underpinned by feminist theory. Collaborating internationally, they engage in practice-based research on community economies and are currently working on a project aimed at converting Rovereto's train station into a civic hub that addresses climate change and biodiversity. Through collective action and co-design, they strive to enhance community resilience and interdependence.