Under this year’s title “Relay,” Walden once again invites local and international artists to use the forest as a resonating body and stage, engaging with the complex history of this place in the former border area through performances, concerts, and installations, and reimagining it for a day.

The term “Relay” refers to the transmission and amplification of signals through an intermediary point—a process of reception and transmission, connection and renewal, similar to the passing of a baton in a relay race. Through performative, musical, and participatory contributions, Walden creates associative connections between historical heritage and pressing contemporary issues, advocating for alternative forms of narration and perception that approach the other with openness, understanding the forest as a place, metaphor and relay for interconnection and permanence, rootedness and resilience.