The Art of Conservation
Members_____ Projects
Initially established as an independent organization in 2005, the Wilderness River Expedition Art Fellowship (WREAF) became a CCS Program in 2013. The purpose of the WREAF program remains to mobilize artists in a unique way to contribute to the public discussion of conservation. Combining art and science with adventure, WREAF works to provide artists with intimate, intense and "real" experience of wilderness to inspire their work, and the strength of numbers and prestigious venues within which to participate in the public dialogue. Working with Mad River Canoe, PacBoats, Johnson-Outdoors, Eureka Canada and others, WREAF organizes wilderness art expeditions and group shows by expedition artists.
Working with the Smithsonian Institution's Arctic Studies Center, the exhibitions present the art within an educational scientific context. WREAF's current focus is the Boreal Forest ecosystem, the largest intact forest on Earth. Critical for climate, water, habitat, native culture, timber, minerals and energy, it is nearby, unappreciated, and threatened by unsustainable development making it one of the greatest and most pressing conservation opportunities anywhere.
WREAF builds on the art expeditions to wilderness rivers of the Boreal Forest led by Director Rob Mullen and supported by Mad River Canoe Company since 2001. With world-class artists and paddlers, the world's largest museum, expert researchers, wide media coverage and the romantically wild rivers of the north, we have an opportunity to add significantly to the public awareness and discussion of conservation issues in our wilderness regions and in particular, this greatest and least known of terrestrial wilderness ecosystems, the Boreal Forest.
Program Director: Rob Mullen wreaf@circumpolarstudies.orgAddress: 3488 Stage Rd
West Bolton, Vermont 05465
