Artists for Nature in the Copper River Delta

Alaska State Museum

Juneau, AK

(907) 465-2901

Artists for Nature in the Copper River Delta

The Copper River Delta of Alaska is the focus of an exhibition of art opening at the Alaska State Museum on International Museum Day, May 18. Artists for Nature in the Copper River Delta will be at the Museum through Sept. 12. Seventeen artists from nine countries participate in the exhibition, which is a collaborative effort of a group called Artists for Nature.

Artists for Nature began in 1990 in the Netherlands, when an art collector invited a few artist friends to an island off the North Sea coast. The resulting artwork illustrated a book and raised awareness of the beauty of the island.

Artists for Nature now sends groups of artists to places of natural beauty throughout the world. In addition to creating paintings and drawings of these natural areas, the group draws attention to areas that may be endangered by proposed development.

The Copper River Delta, an ecosystem that supports the Earth's greatest concentration of migrating seabirds, was chosen by Artists for Nature because of its importance to wildlife, and the threat of oil spills, logging and highway construction in the area. The group's trip to Cordova was financed in part by the people of Cordova, as well as the Alaska Clean Water Alliance.

In 1995, artists from the United States, Russia, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Canada, the Netherlands, the Republic of South Africa and Spain arrived for a two-week stay on the delta. Based in Cordova, the artists used cars, planes and boats to explore the 70-mile-long Copper River Delta.

The 700,000-acre delta is a State of Alaska Fish and Wildlife Critical Habitat Area. It hosts 235 species ofbirds, including the world's entire population of breeding dusky Canada geese and the world's highest concentration of nesting trumpeter swans. It also provides critical habitat for 40 species of mammals, including killer whales, sea otters and endangered Stellar's sea lions.

Summer hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends. Admission is $3. Students, pass holders and those 18 and under are admitted free. Assistance is available for visitors with special needs. Please contact Visitor Services at 465-2901 prior to the visit.

Images from top to bottom: Vadim Gorbatov, Bald Eagle over the Copper River Delta, 1997, watercolor, 18 x 20 inches; Todd Sherman, Copper River from Bridge, 1997, acrylic, 22 x 30 inches; David Rosenthal, Copper River Twilight, 1997, oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches; Andrew Haslen, Kingfisher, 1997, watercolor, 18 x 12 inches; Keith Brockie, Delta Flowers, 1997, watercolor, 18 x 12 inches; Tim Shields, Scatter, 1997, watercolor, 20 x 27 inches.