Endangered! – Extended Until March 3 – Sustainability & Environmental Justice @ John Jay College

ENDANGERED!

Extended to March 3, 2017

©Nick Brandt, Ranger with Tusks of Killed Elephant, Amboseli, 2011

Courtesy of the artist and Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York and Zurich

John Jay College – President’s Gallery

Haaren Hall, 899 Tenth Ave, 6 floor

Curated by Mary Ting

ENDANGERED! The exhibition and its related programming is an emergency call to save the imperiled creatures whose future existence depends on our actions today. The endangered species crisis is growing at an alarming rate due to wildlife trafficking; habitat loss, degradation and conflicts due to human encroachment, agriculture and fossil fuel industry, and further exacerbated by climate change. Wildlife trafficking with its direct ties to criminal syndicates and weapons threatens the rule of law, social stability and global security. Biodiversity is critical for healthy ecosystems. Species extinction of large or small animals has long lasting and far reaching negative impacts on this fragile balance of interwoven relationships. This is not just about the animals, this includes, us.

A federally threatened Atlantic loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) at the Riverbanks Zoo.

©Joel Sartore/National Geographic Photo Ark, A loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) at the Riverbanks Zoo, Columbia, South Carolina.

With the incoming administration’s immediate threats to the Environmental Protection Agency, The Endangered Species Act, the Paris Accord, the integrity of our national parks, our public lands, and air and water protections – we are pushed to a five-alarm siren to defend our wildlife, our wild places. What we do now will determine the future generations.

Courtesy of the artist and Galerie St. Etienne

ENDANGERED! includes photography, prints and mixed media by a group of acclaimed international artists. From Nick Brandt’s heartbreaking Across the Ravaged Lands series, to the expressionistic protest prints of Sue Coe, the exhaustive Photo Ark by Joel Sartore, the last photographs of Cecil, the famed lion, by his researcher and photographer, Brent Stapelkampf, to the disturbing Ivory Buddhist deity images and PTSD baby animal sculpture by Mary Ting, these artists are emphatic about the importance and urgency of these issues.

©Brent Stapelkampf, Cecil and his lioness,

Courtesy of the artist and Anastasia Photo Gallery

Not satisfied with just making powerful images, this group of artists is also actively working in the field to save species, solve issues on the local community level, publish books and raise awareness among consumers and the general public worldwide. Nick Brandt co-founded Big Life Foundation to support anti-poaching initiatives and has four books, Inherit the Dust and the On this Earth Trilogy. Activist, journalist, artist Sue Coe has produced many books on animal issues and has a line of prints to benefit various organizations. Joel Sartore founded The Photo Ark, a 25-year documentary project with the National Geographic to photograph every species in captivity. Brent Stapelkamp, formerly of the Hwange Lion Research Project, now has an organization, Soft Alliance with his wife, Laurie Simpson working with local communities in Zimbabwe. For artist, educator and curator Mary Ting, ENDANGERED! is one of many environmental awareness efforts and an extension of her COMPASSION project on Chinese consumers and endangered species products.

ENDANGERED! has been extended to March 3, 2017. In conjunction with the final closing week, there will be an advocacy event, DEFENDING OUR WILDLIFE, OUR WILD PLACES on Tuesday, February 28 during community hour from 1:40-3pm in the Shiva Gallery, 860 Eleventh Avenue with Maggie Caldwell from Earthjustice presenting On Wolves and Accessing Justice and

Jenny Bock from Friends of the Earth on Palm Oil Impacts on Wildlife, Humans & Climate.

Gallery Hours: 9- 5 PM, M – F, or by appointment

endangeredexhibition.blogspot.com

The exhibition ENDANGERED! and its public programs are co-sponsored by the John Jay College President’s Gallery, the Art and Music Dept and the Sustainability and Environmental Justice program.