National Geographic Photo Ark exhibition set to open at Liquidity Wines in Okanagan Falls

The B.C. winery is the only Canadian stop for the international photographic series

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      Beginning June 23, the walls of Liquidity Wines’ tasting room walls will be adorned with images from the National Geographic Photo Ark, a series of striking photographic portraits of Earth’s diverse animal species.

      With what will be the largest single archive of studio-quality photographs of biodiversity ever, National Geographic photographer and Photo Ark founder Joel Sartore is on a mission to document every species in the world’s wildlife sanctuaries and zoos—some 12,000 species in captivity. It will include several animal classes, including birds, fish, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates. To date, Sartore has visited 40 countries and photographed more than 8,000 species, including many facing threats to their survival. 

      Besides creating an archival record of the planet’s biodiversity, the aim of the project is to ramp up conservation and preservation efforts, to motivate people to protect animals for future generations.  

      “The goal of the Photo Ark is simple: show what’s at stake and get people to care—while there is still time,” Sartore said in a release.

      A Coquerel's sifaka, Propithecus coquereli, at the Houston Zoo.
      © Joel Sartore/National Geographic Photo Ark.

      Some of Sartore’s portraits have been projected on the Empire State Building and St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

      “The National Geographic Photo Ark has already inspired millions around the world with the message that it is not too late to save some of the world’s most endangered species,” Kathryn Keane, vice president of Exhibitions, National Geographic Society, said in a statement. “Joel Sartore has demonstrated what one man can do using the power of photography—and now National Geographic wants to inspire people all over the country to contribute to this global challenge.”

      Organized by the National Geographic Society, the winery’s exhibition will feature more than 50 of Sartore’s photographs.

      A federally threatened koala, Phascolarctos cinereus, with her babies at the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital.
      © Joel Sartore/National Geographic Photo Ark.

      Liquidity Wines’ owner Ian MacDonald has long been a supporter of the arts. Indoors and out, the winery showcases artworks and installations by internationally acclaimed Canadian painter Charles Malinsky; Ola Volo, a Canadian illustrator from Kazakhstan who studied at Emily Carr University of Art + Design; Brooklyn, New York’s Tim Okamura and Teo González; B.C.’s Jeff Burgess, Brent Comber, Martha Sturdy, and Roselina Hung; and many other artists in a permanent collection, while it regularly hosts touring exhibitions like this one.

      The National Geographic Photo Ark is on display at Liquidity Wines until September 3. Admission is free.

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