Vancouver, B.C. - July 7, 2023 -Artists for Conservation (AFC) – the world’s leading artist group supporting the environment – celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary this year since it first launched online in 1998, as the world’s first web-based artist group of 40 artists. Since its launch, AFC has grown into an international movement at a critical juncture in human history. Over that same period, our natural world has undergone a profound transformation, with over 70% of global wildlife lost in that time. Human biomass now outweighs the collective weight of all other vertebrates on Earth.
This September, AFC will be returning to VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to host its flagship event – the Artists for Conservation Festival. Presented by RE/MAX, the festival will be open to the public from September 21 through 24, featuring the premier of the world's top conservation-themed art exhibit. Additional festival activities will begin earlier, with a preview event on September 16, that includes a print exhibit in partnership with the Wild Bird Trust of BC, and featuring AFC artists from the local BC chapter at North Vancouver's Maplewood Conservancy.
Guests attending the opening weekend will have the opportunity to enjoy and purchase from a world-class international collection of original paintings and sculptures. As in previous years, all artwork is for sale with approximately 40 per cent of proceeds supporting conservation and environmental education programs worldwide. Each artwork is dedicated to supporting a conservation organization of each artists' choice. Through a very competitive juried process, 200 artworks were selected for this year's exhibit, by 172 artists from 14 countries. Of those, some 84 will be on display at the festival. All are represented in an online virtual exhibit and in a hardcover book produced as a companion to the exhibit.
In addition to the main art exhibit, the festival will feature a rich program of live music, films, live art demonstrations, and wildlife encounters. Nearby Maplewood Conservancy in North Vancouver will also be hosting activities and an exhibit of art by local AFC members in its visitor centre.
Traditionally the AFC Festival attracts dozens of artists from around the world though this changed in the last two years. AFC will again host a special ticketed "Meet-the-Artists" and awards evening reception on September 21. During the event, AFC will be honoring Canadian realist painter, Michael Dumas, for his decades of work and accomplishments with its most coveted award — the Simon Combes Conservation Artist Award.
For more information on tickets to the Artists for Conservation Festival presented by RE/MAX please visit: www.artistsforconservation.org/festival.
About Artists for Conservation
Artists for Conservation (AFC) is the world's leading group of artists supporting the environment. Founded in 1997, the non-profit organization comprises a membership of 500 of the world's most gifted nature artists from over 30 countries, across five continents. Dedicated to nurture, promote and leverage its world-class community of artists in support of our natural world, AFC drives its mission through three key programs: Art & Environmental Education; Field Work & Research; and Artist Development. The Artists for Conservation Festival is AFC's annual flagship initiative to showcase, support and further these programs. For more information, visit http://www.artistsforconservation.org.