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| AFC Flag Expedition #11 - How an Artist Saved the Mountain Gorilla |
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Joining Quinn will be Jeffrey Whiting, founder and president of Artists for Conservation, the non-profit organization spearheading the expedition. Using a 90-year-old painting created by Akeley's expedition team member William R. Leigh as a "GPS" or treasure map to find the exact location that inspired Akeley’s famous diorama of the mountain gorilla, which is still on display today at the American Museum of Natural History. Quinn aims to create a painting from the same precise vantage point, depicting what that site and vista looks like today.
It is estimated there are only 740 mountain gorillas left in the world. Dr. Mike Cranfield, executive director of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinarian Project, which is dedicated to the preservation of the species, will accompany Quinn and Whiting on the expedition. The project is one of Artists for Conservation’s annual flag expeditions, which aim to combine modern day science with art to raise awareness for critical conservation work.
“Akeley’s efforts were instrumental in having this area conserved as Africa’s first national park nearly a century ago,” said Whiting. “That’s art in action if there ever was. Artists have always been on the forefront of conservation.”
Quinn and Whiting will be posting live updates from the field on the Artists for Conservation website throughout the trek. The expedition was made possible in part by the American Museum of Natural History, the Mountain Gorilla Veterinarian Project, the Houston Zoo and the University of California Davis. T
he expedition has also been endorsed as an official expedition by the world renowned Explorer’s Club, to which Quinn was recently inducted. Anyone wanting to support the expedition can make a donation by becoming a friend of Artists
for Conservation.
Find our more: http://www.artistsforconservation.org/programs/flag-expeditions/expedition/11/how-artist-saved-mountain-gorilla |
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