Join Cambridge Conservation Initiative curator John Fanshawe and artist Rebecca Jewell in conversation about the role of artists in conservation, chaired by Amanda Game

Dr. John Fanshawe, curator of Art, Science and Conservation at the Cambridge Conservation Initiative and artist Rebecca Jewell will be in conversation at Fen Ditton Gallery, as part of our current exhibition Art, Science and the Natural World.

The exhibition showcases the work of three artists, Sarah Gillespie, Rebecca Jewell and Esther Tyson, who have recently completed an invited residency with the Cambridge Conservation Initiative, exploring the threat of severe environmental change on the status and diversity of UK species, focussing on seaweeds, moths, and farmland birds.

Based in the David Attenborough Building, CCI brings together the university and a group of national and international conservation NGOs working together to tackle the nature and climate crises across over 180 countries. Since 2016, CCI has been embedding artists into a rich community of research, policy, practice and learning both in situ, and across sites supported by CCI’s Endangered Landscape Programme (ELP) across Europe and run a programme of collaborative events and exhibitions.

Species declines lies at the heart of the biodiversity crisis, and CCI hosts IUCN’s Red List Unit, a hub for scientists assessing the status of animal and plant communities across the globe. John Fanshawe, believes the Red List can be a catalyst for interdisciplinary conversations about the meaning of species loss. “Enabling contemporary artists and scientists to collaborate and share new ways of expressing the crisis surrounding extinction, notably of less well-known species, is vital.”

The event takes place at Fen Ditton Gallery on Sunday 27th November at 11am.

This is a free event, including:

- Viewing of Rebecca Jewell's seaweed film

- In conservation with John Fanshawe and Rebecca Jewell, chaired by Amanda Game

- Exhibition tour

- Coffee and biscuits