The Wild Escape project
Artists and environmentalists are creating a mass artwork inspired by animals to highlight the biodiversity crisis. Be part of a nationwide celebration of UK wildlife and nature, and if you’re an off island Voice reader, discover family-friendly events at museums and galleries near you. This article is based on a press release from the Art Fund
Launched at the end of January by the UK’s leading arts charity, Art Fund, The Wild Escape is the largest ever collaboration between the UK’s museums. Supported by Arts Council England, the project aims to inspire hundreds of thousands of children to visit museums and respond creatively to the threat to the UK’s natural environment by looking for animals featured in museum collections and creating their own wildlife artworks. The children’s animals will be brought to life in a newly imagined epic-scale artwork, created by leading immersive games studio, PRELOADED, to be unveiled on Earth Day 2023, Saturday 22 April.
In partnership with the WWF, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the National Trust and English Heritage, 500 museums across the UK are taking part in the Wild Escape, including the following museums in Scotland:
Strathnaver Museum, Mount Stuart Trust, Elgin Museum, Leisure and Culture Dundee, Trimontium Museum, High Life Highland, North Lanarkshire Council, Edinburgh Printmakers, St Andrews Preservation Trust, David Livingstone Birthplace Project, University of Dundee Museums, West Highland Museum, Maryhill Museum, McLean Museum and Art Gallery, McManus: Dundee’s Art Gallery and Museum, Rozelle House Galleries, The Watt Institution, The Moray Society, Highland Folk Museum, House of Dun, Etal Castle.
The Wild Escape is inspired by the BBC’s major forthcoming Wild Isles series presented by Sir David Attenborough. It is in partnership with BBC Bitesize, the free study resource for children, which will host films showing an artist making a work inspired by animals in the UK’s museum collections.
The Wild Escape is open to every primary school age child to take part whether in class, through a visit to their local museum or online, from now to July. Hundreds of museums, galleries, and historic houses will host special activities for families connecting to the environment and biodiversity. It will create a new relationship between museums and the natural world aiming to shape the lives of the children who participate.
Leading artists are also creating artworks based on animals in museum collections to inspire children to take part, including Es Devlin, Heather Phillipson, Rana Begum, Mollie Ray, Yinka Shonibare, Tai Shani, FKA Twigs, Claire Twomey, Mark Wallinger, Angela Palmer.
Jenny Waldman, Director, Art Fund, said:
“The Wild Escape aims to change children’s awareness and understanding of biodiversity loss. By being at the centre of a co-created epic-scale digital artwork, and thanks to the support of Arts Council England, the Wild Escape will show how the UK’s museums can encourage new forms of creativity, encouraging children to take ownership of one of the defining challenges of our lives. The risk to our precious wildlife.
“The Wild Escape is a first. We want to show how museums, by working together can bring a fresh angle to learning, especially to welcome children’s creative responses to our great collections. We want every child to learn from and enjoy what museums can offer whilst at the same time drawing attention to the threat of biodiversity loss in this country, one of the defining challenges of our lives.”
Emmie Kell, Director for Museums & Cultural Property, Arts Council England, said:
“The Wild Escape is an ambitious project that shows how the collections housed in museums across the country can inspire positive action to help tackle the climate crisis through creativity. I am proud we are supporting it with one of the largest grants we have given to a museum project. I look forward to seeing the artwork created by school children across the country on Earth Day 2023.”
According to a report by the Environment Agency published in July 2022, England is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world, with impacts accelerating since the mid 20th century. The impacts on species have been severe, with a quarter of mammals in England and almost a fifth of UK plants threatened with extinction. A third of British pollinator species have declined.
For more information on how to take part visit the The Wild Escape and Art Fund websites.
Featured image shows artist Clare Twomey in her studio, drawing for The Wild Escape. Photo credit Clare Twomey. Clare Twomey was inspired by a 1760 Bristol hand painted plate from V&A’s ceramics collection.
