Chimpanzee artists have painted on 15 canvases curated by Karen Bystedt to create original large format acrylic works for sale at a fundraising event for Save the Chimps sanctuary during Art Basel.
Chimp artists also collaborated with The Lost Warhols collection by painting on a poster-sized contact sheet and two original photo portraits of Andy Warhol taken by Karen Bystedt in 1982. These special works will be fractionalized by QR8 and sold as NFTs with the originals living in a museum or Gallery. Proceeds from the sale of all artworks and NFTs benefit the Save the Chimps.
Chimps share 98% of our DNA. They are similar to humans emotionally, physically—even creatively. Some chimps have a knack for painting, including many of the 229 residents at Save the Chimps, a 150 acre refuge in Ft. Pierce for chimps rescued from labs and the entertainment industry. To spotlight the creative side of apes—and to raise funds for the sanctuary—Save the Chimps is partnering with Miami Swim Week Shows to present a collection of large-format acrylic paintings by chimpanzee artists on the opening day of Art Basel
Curating the Miami exhibit is acclaimed artist Karen Bystedt, who is donating prints from her “Lost Warhols” series for the chimps to paint on—much like Warhol himself painted on existing photos of celebrities. Organizing the event on behalf of the sanctuary is renowned animal advocate Dan Mathews, creator of the iconic “Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” campaign. Over his three decades at PETA, Mathews developed projects with artists ranging from Banksy and David LaChapelle to Pink and Paul McCartney. He now organizes events across the country for Save the Chimps, whose Advisory Council includes Jane Goodall and Alan Cumming, who filmed this 2-minute video at the sanctuary.
NEW WORLD CENTER
Welcome to the New World Center, home of the New World Symphony, a unique post-graduate orchestral academy under the artistic direction of 11-time Grammy award-winning conductor and co-founder Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT). The New World Center campus is a unique musical laboratory for generating new ideas about the way music is taught, experienced and presented.
Save the Chimps is quite unique because it's one of the first sanctuaries to specifically take chimpanzees from medical research. I remember when they arrived, and then my first visit. And seeing the first group out on their island was very exciting. Growing up within a community of care is very very important for chimpanzees and for us
