Last Friday we took down the installation at the Coos Art Museum and packed the reef away once more. Over the past year I have been actively searching for a permanent home for the PNW Community Coral Reef as this four + year project winds down. After reaching out to science organizations, children’s museums, and arts organizations to no avail, I have made the decision to break up the reef. Currently I am dismantling vignettes that I built years ago, boxing up single corals and sending them across country to become a part of a new fiber art reef being built in Massachusetts. Their reef will be at Williams College and their hope is that it will be a permanent display. This feels right to me. Recycling and reusing are fundamental ways forward for everyone. including the PNW Community Coral Reef.
Certain wall hangings and the creatures of the PNW Community Coral Reef will be held back for future donation to marine science organizations to use in fundraising efforts. Chief among these organizations will be the Marine Education and Research Society and the Whale Interpretive Center, both located on Vancouver Island, Canada. The Whale Interpretive Center recently suffered a catastrophic fire and has been fundraising to rebuild their center. If you are interested in donating, please visit their donation page here. To see the center in their former glory, watch the incredible video series Whale Bones that tracks the cleaning and articulation of one of their whale skeletons. Of note, all of their installations and their building were lost in the fire.
I would just like to thank everyone for their participation and hard work on this multi year journey. As far as I go, I will personally continue to create work that supports marine education and supports the protection of our marine environment.