Nick Hayes: Art is Magic

Artist, author and Right to Roam co-founder Nick Hayes explores how art can move beyond the marketplace to become a powerful force for social change, drawing on his experience of activism, subvertising and the transformative potential of creative resistance. About Nick Hayes is an illustrator, author and environmental campaigner whose work explores the relationship between art, nature, and social change. He is the author of The Book of Trespass and The Medicine Tree , and co-founder of the Right to Roam campaign which advocates for greater public access to the countryside in England. In this talk, he reflects on a print he created for Heartwood , a poem written by Robert Macfarlane for the Sheffield Tree Protests in 2018, and how this experience led him to recognise the power of art not only to change how we perceive reality, but to transform reality itself. Drawing on his work in campaigning and subvertising, as well as his understanding of books as a form of direct action, he will trace his journey from seeing art as a commodity to recognising it as an active agent of societal transformation. Through his distinctive illustrations, writing and activism, Hayes challenges conventional ideas about land ownership, belonging and our relationship with the natural world. His practice moves between art and direct action, exploring how creative expression can challenge established narratives, inspire collective action and bring about meaningful change. Read more Toggle Multi-disciplinary