News Release
NPS Photo
Subscribe
 |
What is RSS
|
Contact: Megan Urban, 409-951-6721
KOUNTZE, Texas – Today we announce the installation of a new temporary art exhibit at the Big Thicket National Preserve Visitor Center. Entitled “Find Your Adventure,” this art installation was created in partnership with the International Fiber Collaborative, which worked with students from across the country to create more than 70 pieces of art highlighting the vast array of plants and animals found in the thicket. Each piece represents the students’ unique perspectives on the diversity of the natural environment in this region. More than 350 students from 18 different schools in 11 states created art for this exhibit, including Uxbridge High School in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, Cottonwood Elementary School in Paola, Kansas, Hobbton High School in Newton, North Carolina, and Central Heights Middle School in Nacogdoches, Texas. The exhibition will be on display through the end of August.
“I hope everyone will come view the impressive work done by all these students,” stated Big Thicket National Preserve Superintendent Wayne Prokopetz. “Parks can inspire us! The colors of the forest and the intricacy of the natural systems have inspired artists and scientists for thousands of years.” From the Kolb Brothers in the Grand Canyon and Ansel Adams’s famous black and white images to the timeless Works Progress Administration poster series, parks and outdoors spaces have inspired artists throughout history. Big Thicket National Preserve’s involvement in this student project is supported by donations made to the park by local citizens and park visitors from around the world.
This Year’s Theme: “Find Your Adventure”
Many people are exploring new recreational activities like kayaking and canoeing. From earth caching activities to finding a quiet place to practice yoga or painting a landscape, parks like Big Thicket play an important role in providing community members a public space to recreate. This year, we invited our student artists to create pieces that highlight adventures and recreation in the national preserve. Check out the submissions on Flickr!
The International Fiber Collaborative (IFC) was founded in 2008 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit that develops community programs that create collaborative opportunities in art and civic engagement. IFC promotes programs that link learning and creativity in the arts to science, math, engineering, and the humanities. Public programming has been a catalyst for creativity in health care facilities, libraries, schools, museums, national parks and many other sites. During the 2017-2018 school year 11,533 students from 317 schools participated in 20 exhibits at national park sites.
Big Thicket National Preserve is located in southeast Texas, near the city of Beaumont and 75 miles northeast of Houston. The preserve consists of nine land units and six water corridors encompassing more than 113,000 acres. The Big Thicket, often referred to as a “biological crossroads,” is a transition zone between four distinct vegetation types: the moist eastern hardwood forest, the southwestern desert, the southeastern swamp, and the central prairies. Species from all of these different vegetation types come together in the thicket, exhibiting a variety of vegetation and wildlife that has received global interest.
-NPS-
Last updated: May 22, 2021