Report of the Caribbean Wildlife Art Working Group Meeting
Project Leader: Nils Navarro
2 August 2005
Mission of the Caribbean Wildlife Art Working Group: To promote an artistic movement in the Caribbean based on Wildlife Art, to raise awareness and appreciation of the rich biodiversity of the region, and to join efforts among the artistic community to contribute to the financing of the SCSCB.
Objectives
To promote the conservation of Caribbean biodiversity, especially birds, through the arts.
To create and develop a wildlife artist movement focused on the richness and endemism of Caribbean biodiversity.
To contribute to raising funds for the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB) through donations of artwork, limited edition prints, royalties, poster designs, paintings for auctions and raffles, on-line sales, illustrations of books and magazines, designs for T-Shirts and greeting cards, collective exhibitions, and establishing a wildlife photo reference library for artists, among other actions.
Design art activities that are related to environmental education and outreach: festivals, workshops, art competitions, and field trips.
Art possesses the capacity to inspire and to touch the hearts of many people. For this reason a group of artists and scientists was founded in the year 2003, the “Caribbean Wildlife Art Working Group," during the 14th Meeting of the Society for the Conservation and Study of the Caribbean Birds in the island of Tobago. Within two years of having been created, the Caribbean Wildlife Art Working Group (CWAWG) has carried out several actions with the objective of promoting the conservation of the biological diversity of the Caribbean, through the fine arts, as well as a movement of wildlife artists in the area.
The results obtained during the first two years (2003-2005) of work were presented in Nils Navarro’s presentation to the plenary as a featured speaker: Caribbean Wildlife Art and Conservation - Art's Capacity to Inspire and Raise Funds for Nature Conservation. Among the more important actions of the WG: exhibitions of paintings, design of programs for teaching wildlife art in Academies of Fine Arts in Cuba, courses in wildlife art, art competitions for children, Festivals of Art and Nature, design of posters with a conservation message, book illustrations, auction of art to raise funds for conservation NGOs, donation of copyright, preparation of programs for environmental education on the radio and TV, and painting murals for cities (with the topic of the flora and fauna of the Caribbean). Nils also presented several proposals for obtaining funds for the SCSCB. During the meeting, the CWAWG donated T-shirts decorated with a Cuban Macaw painting and an original American Kestrel watercolour painting by Nils for the Silent Auction.
The meeting was a wonderful place to share experiences with other people and have contact with an organization that is enthusiastic about our project support. The needs and recommendations outlined below arose out of discussions with CWAWG members in Cuba prior to and following the Guadeloupe conference, and from discussions with colleagues at the CWAWG meeting, and with meeting delegates during the week.
Needs
1. The project needs to be expanded to other islands in the Caribbean. To date most of the actions of the CWAWG have been carried out in the island of Cuba, including the training courses for young artists in the Academies of Fine Arts. The workshops and training courses should be organized in other countries in the region. This will enable new artists to join our efforts in bird conservation and through their work they will have the opportunity to contribute to the conservation of Caribbean avifauna.
2. The work and actions of the CWAWG needs to be promoted on SCSCB´s web site, through a novel and colourful design. The group’s achievements and art can be featured on the website and workshops in the region can be publicized on the webpage. We also propose on-line sales of art using artists members’ donations, in order to help finance the core activities of the SCSCB.
3. A seed fund is needed for the preparation of all the materials that are needed to build the program and obtain future funds for the SCSCB. This seed funding will be used to purchase art materials and to pay for finished products such as T-Shirts, fans, cards, and others products. At the moment the Caribbean Wildlife Art WG lacks financial support to initiate proposed plans to assist the SCSCB.
Recommendations
1. Carry out a training workshop in Wildlife Art in another Caribbean country in 2006, preferably Dominican Republic, Bahamas or Puerto Rico, where Cuban artists are willing to impart free courses as a donation to SCSCB. These courses can also help raise funds for SCSCB and they can be promoted through SCSCB´s web site.
2. If accepted by the SCSCB Board, a Cuban artist and member of the CWAGG will design a web site for SCSCB. The web site will include a section of online art sales with the objective of raising funds for the Society. The CWAWG is willing to create the website design and keep this section of the site up to date in its entirety.
3. SCSCB establish a seed fund for the Caribbean Wildlife Art Working Group for the preparation of works and other products. This seed fund will be reimbursed to SCSCB through the sales of the donated works and other art products.
4. Prepare an art show to present during the AOU Conference next year in Veracruz, Mexico. Some art pieces will be donated by the CWAWG members to raise funds for SCSCB. Additional items will be prepared for silent auctions that take place during these kind of meetings.
Nils Navarro Pacheco (nilsarts@yahoo.com), Provincial Art Center, Frexes 334, entre Carbó y Carretera Central, Ciudad Holguín, Cuba