On 25 March 2025, TA T – Tieranatomisches Theater is organising an evening of artistic and activist initiatives for the preservation of bird habitats. Ugandan environmentalist and activist Nick Byaba (Parrot Tree Caretakers Association) meets the Finnish-German artist duo Maria Leena Räihälä and Manuel Bonik (Morgenvogel Real Estate). Together they will explore the intertwining of species conservation and the joint agency of birds and humans – in urban and rural areas.
Image above: African grey parrots eating on oil palms. PTCA.
The event is part of the exhibition Hörner/Antlfinger: Parrot Terristories (on view at TA T until March 29) by artists Ute Hörner and Mathias Antlfinger in collaboration with Nick Byaba and CMUK. Curator Felix Sattler (TA T) will moderate the discussion.
While operating in distinct contexts—Uganda’s tropical forests and European urban landscapes—both initiatives reflect a commitment to birds as valued co-inhabitants.
About Parrot Tree Caretakers Association (PTCA)
Founded in 2020 by Nick Byaba, the PTCA is a community-based organization dedicated to conserving grey parrots and their habitats. Through tree-planting initiatives, educational outreach, and scientific monitoring, the PTCA works with local farmers and conservationists to ensure the survival of this endangered species. Key achievements include planting over 6,000 indigenous trees, monitoring parrot flyways, and integrating rehabilitated parrots back into their original habitats.
The PTCA also runs educational programs for children, fostering a new generation of conservationists who advocate for the protection of parrots and their ecosystems. Looking ahead, the PTCA aims to establish the world’s first Grey Parrot Museum in Uganda, serving as a hub for education, research, and awareness.
About Morgenvogel Real Estate
Morgenvogel Real Estate (M0RE) is a long-term artistic initiative by Maria Leena Räihälä and Manuel Bonik, addressing the loss of nesting opportunities for urban birds in the wake of urban redevelopment. For over a decade, the Berlin-based art project Morgenvogel has engaged in ecological urban interventions by producing and distributing handcrafted birdhouses tailored for species like tits, sparrows, and flycatchers.
With support from conservation foundations, Morgenvogel has placed over 1,000 nesting boxes across Berlin and other European Cities, often accompanying installations with art events such as BirdChurch, Avanti Natura!, and BirdTalks.
Beyond Morgenvogel Real Estate, Maria Leena Räihälä and Manuel Bonik have been engaged in landscape restoration, most recently by their MAJAVA project (2021–2024), an initiative inspired by beavers as ecosystem engineers (Majava is the Finnish word for beaver). Through dam-building and water filtration structures, Morgenvogel seeks to counteract environmental degradation in Finnish wetland and forest areas.
WHEN?
Tuesday 25. March 2025, 6 – 8 pm.
WHERE?
Tieranatomisches Theater,
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
10115 Berlin
COST?
Admission: free
