Book Talk: Francis Kéré, Spirits Out of Trees

Join us for a conversation between Francis Kéré and Cathy and Peter Halstead, moderated by Nora Lawrence, to celebrate the launch of a new book from Park Books, titled Spirits Out of Trees: Francis Kéré Gando / Montana.

About the Book:
Spirits out of Trees traces the interwoven stories of two architectural works by Burkinabé-German architect Francis Kéré: Xylem, a contemplative pavilion nestled within the aspen groves of Tippet Rise Art Center in Fishtail, Montana, and the Naaba Belem Goumma Secondary School, built for Kéré’s hometown community of Gando, Burkina Faso. Though separated by geography, climate, and culture, the two buildings are united by a shared philosophy: architecture as a site of gathering, learning, and care.

The book explores how trees—literal and metaphorical—inform Kéré’s design language. Xylem evokes the spiritual and structural intelligence of trees, offering a space of quiet communion and passive cooling. Naaba Belem Goumma Secondary School transforms local materials into a living, breathing environment for education, shaped by and for its community.

Combining architectural documentation and photography with personal reflections and original poetry, Spirits Out of Trees is a tribute to Francis Kéré’s vision, his close and collaborative friendship with Cathy and Peter Halstead, and the enduring metaphor of the tree as shelter and a symbol of regeneration. Designed with the same humility and clarity that defines Kéré’s work, the volume offers a deeply resonant meditation on sustainability, cultural continuity, and the power of architecture to root us more fully in the world around us.

Speakers:
Francis Kéré, Architect
Cathy Halstead, Co-Founder, Tippet Rise Art Center and Adrian Brikerhoff Poetry Foundation
Peter Halstead, Co-Founder, Tippet Rise Art Center and Adrian Brikerhoff Poetry Foundation
Nora Lawrence, Executive Director, Storm King Art Center

About the Speakers:
Francis Kéré garnered critical praise from the beginning of his architectural practice when awarded the prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture (2004) for his first ever building - a primary school he designed, raised the funds for and realized in collaboration with the residents of his native Gando, Burkina Faso. In 2022, he became the first African architect to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize.

Kéré has gone on to become one of the most distinguished contemporary architects, thanks to his pioneering of a communal approach to design and his commitment to sustainable materials, as well as modes of construction. Inspired by a curiosity for the particularities of any given locality and its social tapestry, he has gathered a diverse, agile team at his Berlinbased Kéré Architecture offices, to take on projects across five continents. Most prominently these include the Léo Surgical Clinic & Health Centre (2014), the Lycée Schorge Secondary School (2016), the Serpentine Pavilion (2017), Xylem (2019), a gathering pavilion for the Tippet Rise Art Center, the Startup Lions Campus (2021), the Thomas Sankara Mausoleum (2025), Munich's Kinderoase an der TUM (2026), the Goethe Institut in Dakar (2026), the Benin National Assembly (under construction), the Las Vegas Museum of Art and Rio de Janeiro's Biblioteca dos Saberes (both in development). Underpinning his architectural practice are his past and current teaching engagements at TU München, the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio, and Yale University as well as his participation in solo and group exhibitions including at the Venice Biennale of Architecture, the Museo ICO in Madrid, the Architekturmuseum in Munich, the MoMA in New York, the Royal Academy in London and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Cathy Halstead is an abstract painter whose work explores the similarities between the infinitesimal and the infinite, between the repetition of invisible but essential patterns in nature. Examples of her work are available online at cathyhalstead.com.

Peter Halstead is a pianist, photographer, novelist, and poet. He has published 17 volumes of poems as well as the novel Bug the Great. In recent years he has published A Winter Ride, which combines prose, photos, and poetry to create a sense of the anticipation of winter in Montana. The two-volume series, Tippet Rise Beginnings, describes the personal journey that brought Cathy and Peter Halstead to realize their dream of creating Tippet Rise. Several of Peter’s piano recordings are available on the Tippet Rise website, including Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, The Tempest, and his multi-album piano series, The Himalaya Sessions.

Cathy and Peter are the co-founders of Tippet Rise Art Center. They have known each other since they were 16. In addition to Tippet Rise, Cathy and Peter are founders of the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation, which gathers poems from across places, eras, and traditions for audiences worldwide. They are also trustees of the Sidney E. Frank Foundation, which makes grants in the arts, education, and medical and life sciences. Cathy is on the boards of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, of Storm King Art Center, and trustee emeritus of Brown University. Cathy and Peter have two wonderful daughters and two adorable grandchildren.

Nora Lawrence is the Executive Director of Storm King Art Center, a 500-acre outdoor museum in New York’s Hudson Valley known for its monumental sculpture and transformative site-specific commissions. Under her leadership, Storm King has solidified its position as an internationally acclaimed institution at the forefront of contemporary art and landscape. Previously serving as Storm King’s Artistic Director and Chief Curator, Lawrence has collaborated with some of today’s most significant artists to realize ambitious, singular projects—including commissions and exhibitions with artists Wangechi Mutu, Rashid Johnson, Arlene Shechet, Lynda Benglis, Sarah Sze, Martin Puryear, and Anicka Yi. Lawrence has written widely on modern and contemporary art, and her work has been 
supported by grants from the Luce Foundation, the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual  Arts (CASVA), the Saat Saath Foundation in New Delhi, and the Office for Contemporary Art Norway, among others. Prior to Storm King, Lawrence held positions at The Museum of Modern Art, MoMA PS1, and the National Gallery of Art, Washington. She attended Pomona College and holds graduate degrees in art history from the University of Southern California and the CUNY Graduate Center. Lawrence is a Visiting Critic for Columbia University’s MFA program, a 2024 Fellow of the Center for Curatorial Leadership, a 2026 – 27 Fellow in the inaugural class of the Michael D. Eisner Arts & Culture Fellowship, and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.