The Folkestone Triennial 2025, titled "The Lie of the Land," features 18 artists across the seaside town in southeast England. Works include Sara Trillo's chalk cob sculptures inspired by Iron Age urns, Emilija Skarnulyte's film on nuclear decommissioning at Lithuania's Ignalina plant, Katie Paterson's amulet installation made from planetary crisis materials, and Cooking Sections' activist project on UK sewerage pollution. The triennial runs through the ancient port's historic role as a site of arrival and departure.
This edition matters because it directly confronts environmental catastrophe while offering hope and joy, using art to address urgent ecological issues like nuclear waste, plastic pollution, and water mismanagement. The triennial demonstrates how contemporary art can engage communities in activism, as seen in the Ministry of Sewers project that builds evidence for prosecuting polluters. It also highlights the fragility of landscapes and human impact, making environmental concerns tangible through locally responsive, materially innovative works.