It is a poor apple year in Åsa’s garden. What grows better there is the hope that our wishes will come true.

In the middle of harvest season, one of the fruit trees in the school’s leafy garden was recently transformed into a Wishing tree.

Participants in the school’s courses were encouraged to write down their wishes on slips of paper, which were then hung on the tree’s branches.

A model carrying dreams
There they now remain on public display, for as long as rain and autumn winds allow.

The idea for the Wishing tree came to the school’s social and integration pedagogue, Catarina Salomonsson, after she had seen a Dream tree at Eskilstuna Art Gallery.

The tree is part of the gallery’s collaborative project with Sörmland Museum and Katrineholm Art Gallery: Dreams in Sörmland.

Life-giving leaves
Through exhibitions and various programmes, the museum and galleries are exploring the fascinating theme of Dreams in depth.

As part of the theme, the galleries have installed “dream trees” where anyone can hang up their written dreams. Each dream becomes a leaf, and together they give life to the tree.

Peace and ice cream
The inspiration for the Dream tree partly comes from Yoko Ono’s ongoing art installation Wish Tree.

At Åsa, this in turn inspired the Wishing tree and the many large and small wishes that now hang there; for example, “Stop world hunger”, “Peace on earth and within”, as well as wishes for personal growth, the happiness and wellbeing of loved ones, more training weights in the school gym, and for – ice cream (!).

Text and photo: Henrik Wising