Our Programs
Artists for Conservation programs are unique in concept and exist to further our mission to support environmental conservation work through art that celebrates our natural heritage. Through this website - ArtistsForConservation.org - and our programs, we engage, inspire and inform the public, and empower passionate professional artists as effective ambassadors for the environment.
ArtistsForConservation.org is the main portal that supports and promotes all our AFC programs and features several thousand pieces of original and limited edition nature inspired artwork. With over 8,000 original paintings and hundreds of original sculptures for sale valued collectively at over US$30 million, the AFC website is the largest, most sophisticated and most visited site of its kind. It is also the largest and most comprehensive nature art news and events listing resource anywhere.
Artists for Conservation holds an annual festival in Vancouver, BC. It's a one-of-a-kind, international cultural event supporting and celebrating nature at one of the most spectacular venues on the planet, opening on Vancouver's waterfront at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel and concluding on the peak of North Vancouver's scenic Grouse Mountain Resort. It's a highly anticipated event in the nature-inspired art field including AFC's annual world's top conservation-themed art exhibit with over 90 original artworks for sale in support of conservation, five documentary films about art and conservation, special lectures, live painting demos, adult and youth workshops, music and more.
Thanks to the generous support of our partners, sponsors and donors, AFC is able to develop and run numerous programs. Get involved with the AFC to support us in continuing our mission. Tell your friends, family and colleagues about us.
Annual Juried Exhibit (Live & Virtual)
AFC’s Annual Juried Exhibit – The Art of Conservation – recognizes artists for their commitment to artistic excellence and conservation, raises awareness of conservation issues, and directly supports conservation organizations through the sale of artwork. The AFC exhibit is the world's top conservation-themed art exhibit. The Art of Conservation Exhibit opening is held at the Artists for Conservation Festival in Vancouver, BC annually. The exhibit will feature over 80 original artworks for sale by over 50 leading nature and wildlife artists from around the world. The exhibit travels throughout the year across the North American in support of AFC's mission and conitnued awareness to conservation causes globablly. The exhibit of over 200 works can be seen through our virtual gallery online, please visit the Virtual Exhibit. Save the dates for 2016! Sept 29- Oct 3 | Grouse Mountain Resort, North Vancouver, BC Visit the website learn more about the festival programs. Tickets for special events for 2016 are on sale now. |
Flag Expeditions & Explorers Program
AFC Flag Expeditions program facilitates collaborative art and science field work to study and promote endangered species and their vanishing habitats. The program uniquely supports artists seeking to explore the world’s remaining true wildernesses and to observe the rare or endangered species that live in those places. It fosters a broader representation of the world’s biodiversity in art by some of today’s most talented artists. Each year, AFC provides special fellowship grants to two artists in support of their expeditions to study, understand and then communicate important conservation issues around the world. AFC Flag Expedition #15 is underway - Nov 1, 2016 - Jan 14, 2017 Artist, photographer and wildlife biologist, Sharon Schafer embarks on a journey. THAR: The Great Indian Desert: Promoting Global Environment Education through Fine Art, Photography and Science. Follow Sharon's Expedition Blog... Explorers Program will foster artistic and scientific collaboration in the field to drive awareness and education around marine conservation and land conservation. It will also provide opportunities for AFC artist members to study species and their ecology in the field under the guidance and expertise of leading scientists.
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Artists for Conservation Festival
The Artists for Conservation Festival is a signature international cultural event featuring art and environmental education, featuring the premier of AFC's annual exhibit, symposium, youth and adult workshops, live artist demos, gallery tours and wildlife viewing, First Nations performances and film. The Festival is held annually in Vancouver BC, Canada, featuring some of the leading nature and wildlife artists and naturalists from around the world. Visit the AFC Festival website for more informaiton. Save the dates for 2016! Sept 29- Oct 3 | Grouse Mountain Resort, North Vancouver, BC |
Adventures in Art & Education Youth Program
As part of the Artists for Conservation Festival, we are excited to offer a unique program connecting youth (gr 3-10) in the most inspiring of settings, with nature through art, and engaging them with leadership in environmental guardianship. Students are lead through a guided gallery visit of over 80 original artworks inspired by nature and wildlife by international painters and sculptors, including a hands on workshop with one of AFC's Signature Artists Members and an ecological interpretative walk on the peak of Grouse Mountain. Bring your class to our Youth Education Program. |
AFC Annual Art & Conservation Symposium
As part of the Artists For Conservation Festival, we are excited to feature a series of lectures, workshops, live art demonstrations and public panel discussions relating to art, nature and conservation of our natural world. Presenters include AFC artists and guest speakers from around the world. Some of the world's best known nature-inspired artists and dedicated conservationists, such as Robert Bateman, John Seerey-Lester, Mark Hobson, Dr. Guy Harvey, and Pollyanna Pickering will offer an impressive roster schedule of lectures, workshops and presentations. A detailed lecture schedule, including a list of presenters will be posted on the AFC Festival website. Read the 2012 program guide for details about last year's schedule. |
AFC Documentary Films
AFC proceduced it's first documentary film in 2011- "How an Artist Saved the Mountain Gorilla" - the pilot in a documentary series focused on the role of art and conservation. The first film featured Flag Expedition recipient Stephen Quinn and was produced in association with the American Museum of Natural History. AFC's documentary film series is featured at the AFC festival, special screenings, film festivals and tour venues. Featured film for the 2011 Festival was "How an Artist Saved the Mountain Gorilla: Retracing the Steps of Carl Akeley." Stephen Quinn's Flag Expedition to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. In October 2012, AFC will premiere its second inspiring documentary film "The Soysambu Legacy: Art and Conservation in Africa's Rift Valley" exclusively at the 2nd Artist For Conservation Festival in Vancouver. |
Art for Conservation
AFC’s Art for Conservation program provides an online venue for the sale of artwork with a portion of the proceeds voluntarily earmarked by the artists to support a conservation organization of their choice. Collectively under this program, several million dollars have been committed upon the sale of the artwork. |
Awards
AFC Awards exist to highlight excellence in conservation and art and to empower and reward passionate professional artists as effective ambassadors for the environment. We currently run four awards programs: the monthly Conservation Artist Award, the AFC Medal of Excellence, the Wildscape Editor's Choice Award, and the yearly Simon Combes Conservation award. |
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Monthly Conservation Artist
AFC Honours Peggy Sowden
Conservation Artist of the Month for September, 2017
Peggy Sowden has joined a number of West Coast artists in group shows and has been an active participant in the campaigns to preserve the old growth forest in BC's Carmanah Valley and the lower Tsitika Valley/Robson Bight. Recently she participated...