Where Birds Meet Art . . .
The Audubon Mural Project is a public-art initiative of the National Audubon Society and Gitler &_____ Gallery that celebrates birds while drawing attention to the risk climate changes poses to both birds and people. It began in the Harlem and Washington Heights neighborhoods of northern Manhattan, where pioneering bird artist John James Audubon once lived and is buried, and is now stretching its wings across the country.
The project commissions artists with a diverse range of styles and life experiences to paint birds imperiled by climate change. In Audubon’s groundbreaking “Survival By Degrees” report, scientists found that climate change will threaten the existence of 389 bird species—two-thirds of all North American birds—and that no bird will escape the impacts of related hazards like increased wildfire and sea-level rise. But the report also offers hope: If we take action on climate change now, hundreds of bird species will be better off—and nearly 150 will no longer be vulnerable to extinction.
Dozens of birds now perch on doors, walls, and security gates throughout New York City, and the project has been widely celebrated in the media, including by The New York Times. Want to tour the murals? New York City Audubon leads a monthly walk, or you can take a self-guided tour using one of the maps below. The New-York Historical Society also features rotating images from the Audubon Mural Project in its Birds of America gallery.
Satellite murals and partner mural projects have begun to proliferate across the country. Scroll down to see some featured sites. If you’d like to learn more about how to support the Audubon Mural Project in New York City or elsewhere, e-mail us at email@example.com and firstname.lastname@example.org. Are you a teacher who has incorporated the mural project into your science or arts class? We'd like to know that, too. And a huge thank you to all of our donors and supporters thus far!