The collection of writings was first published in English on the occasion of the 31st Bienal de Sâo Paulo - How to (...) Things that Don't Exist. held from 6 September to 7 December 2014 at the Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion, Ibirapuera Park. The Arabic version was first published in the context of Act II of the 13th Sharjah Biennial "Tamawawj", held from 14 to 23 October in Beirut, Lebanon. This edition of the book was published in conjunction with the Permanent Temporariness exhibition in the NYUAD Art Gallery, Abu Dhabi from 24 February to 9 June 2018.

The Tree School is a product of a collaboration between Contrafilé, a Brazilian-based art collective, and Campus in Camps, an experimental educational program, on the occassion of the 31st Bienal de Sâo Paulo. The book is a product of visits and field work conducted by both groups in Southern Bahia, where important quilombola communities were historically established and where, today, new communities are experimenting with "different forms of life and knowledge production."  (from NYUAD Art Gallery)