Exhibition Opening – Art that Matters to the Planet: Wild America

Please join us Friday, April 11, from 5:30 – 8 pm, for the opening of our newest exhibition, Art that Matters to the Planet: Wild America.

April 11th just so happens to be the date in 1953 when Roger Tory Peterson and James Fisher met up in Newfoundland, Canada, to begin their epic 100-day, 30,000-mile journey across America. They travelled down the East Coast, down to the mangroves in Florida, and across the deserts and plateaus of the Southwest before heading up to the Pacific Northwest and ending their journey in Alaska. The exhibition is place-based and follows this exact route, with artists recreating and visiting many places James and Roger would’ve recognized and found familiar. However, the exhibition also reflects some changes that have occurred between their journey and ours. Artists created their own visions of Wild America, in photography and video, paintings and illustration, as well as fabric works such as woven artworks and embroidery.

The guest juror for the exhibition, Kenn Kaufman, will be in attendance. As a boy, Kaufman was strongly influenced by the artwork and writing of Roger Tory Peterson. Wild America inspired Kaufman to pursue birds all over North America while he was still a teenager—an adventure later chronicled in his own classic work of environmental non-fiction, Kingbird Highway. An accomplished writer, artist and leader of international birding tours, Kaufman has authored or co-authored 14 books about birds and nature, including his most recent book, The Birds That Audubon Missed.

Your ticket includes full access to the museum, along with a drink from the RTPI bar, and light bites from Elegant Edibles, and music by Norm Karin. The RTPI bar features wine, beer, cider, and non-alcoholic beverages.

We’d like to thank G.L Olson for sponsoring Art that Matters to the Planet: Wild America.