The fact of the matter is that our wildlife is disappearing at an unprecedented rate. Our forests, which are the lungs of our country, are being cleared at an alarming speed. The climate change has already affected our economy and health.
The time for talking is over. We should now act and feel responsible for taking steps to save the wild species from extinction. It is important that we learn from the past and stop repeating mistakes.
Till date, we have lost many species of plants and animals that can never be replaced. But we still have some time before all the species go extinct. The national gallery of modern art has curated an interactive exhibit to honor India’s wildlife explorers and conservationists who are fighting to protect them.
5th February 2016 – 5pm onwards
I came across this article on the Internet about the National Gallery of Modern Art in India. It is about a new exhibit there called Wildlife Explorers, and it features wildlife paintings by some of India’s great artists, who have been active in preserving India’s wildlife. If you’re interested, you can read more about this exhibit at the web page given below.
Good for them!
Anyway, I was inspired by this article to think about how important it is to recognize the achievements of people like these Indian wildlife explorers, who have done so much to help our world become a better place.
Terrance Zepke
www.zepkeart.com
These new interactive exhibits are part of a growing movement in museums, which is to use interactivity to engage the public in a more meaningful way. The National Gallery of Modern Art’s “Wildlife Explorers” exhibit is the first of its kind in India.
The “Wildlife Explorers” exhibit runs through October 29th, 2014. Each day at 2pm, there will be live presentations by some of the country’s most talented artists and scientists.
Till October 29th, visitors can also try out the interactive gallery by exploring the artworks and making their own animal-inspired creations.
The National Gallery of Modern Art, India is presenting a fascinating exhibit called “The Last Wild Men of Borneo”. This is an interactive exhibit that tells the story of four Indian explorers who went to Borneo, lived among the natives and documented their way of life in the 1950s and 1960s. The four men were Kailash Sankhala, Ira Rubin, NG Subba Rao and Krishna Rao. In doing so, they made it possible for the world to learn about these tribes from a non-judgmental point of view and helped them to preserve what little was left of their culture. The exhibit features over 100 photographs and a short video.
A short visit to this exhibition will make us realize why conservationists and anthropologists are so important in society. Thanks to these adventurers, we have knowledge about our countrymen’s history that would otherwise be lost forever. We would like to thank the NGA for supporting indigenous peoples!
The exhibit is called “In Pursuit of Wildlife: A Photographic Safari with India’s Wildlife Explorers.” It’s a series of photographs by four wildlife photographers, all Indian, all endangered species experts.
The first, Sanjeev Bhagat, is a naturalist and conservationist who has worked on tiger issues since 1973. The second, Arjun Gopalaswamy, is an environmental journalist who has spent much of his career working on the history of India’s national parks. The third, Zakir Hossain Raju, is a scientist with the forest department in Karnataka who has been studying the effects of human presence on Asiatic lions for about 20 years. And the fourth, Gautam Bhan, a former forest official who now works for World Wide Fund for Nature (India), has spent decades studying and photographing elephants.
What makes this show so important is that it’s part of an attempt to restore an appreciation for India’s wildlife experts and their work. They are almost unknown to the average Indian, even though they have made enormous contributions to India’s conservation efforts over decades. So the exhibit includes not only the photos but also biographies of each
The paintings don’t need to be seen as an alternative to the more traditional sound and light show, but as an addition, a way to engage with nature in a different way. Most of us who have been on these tours and have had to get up at 4am-5am, have not even heard of the National Gallery of Modern Art, let alone visited it. But this exhibit is an exception that will hopefully change all that.
The exhibit includes pieces by artists like Herbert Cole, who spent four years living among the people and animals of India’s Andaman Islands. He created the first accurate drawings of their life there. The paintings display their daily life including hunting and fishing.
It also has pieces from people like Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen, who was awarded the Order of British Empire for his contribution toward preserving wildlife in Kenya. His work focussed on tigers and elephants.
The painting of Colonel Meinertzhagen came into prominence when it was used in Julian Huxley’s book ‘The painted desert’. There are some shots from that book too which can be found on the gallery’s blog .
The Gallery is a place of discovery and immersion, where people of all ages can experience art as a space to share ideas, engage in dialogue, and celebrate the human creative impulse. Located in the heart of New Delhi, close to the Parliament House and India Gate, the Gallery overlooks the vast open spaces of what was once the Tughlaqabad Fort.
Tours for school students are scheduled during:
Sunday – 10:30 am & 2:00 pm
Monday -Friday – 10:30 am & 2:00 pm