City of Clarksville, TN
10/04/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/04/2024 14:34
Renowned artist, Clarksville native Kitty Harvill and colleagues visit with Mayor Pitts
In a visit with Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts Friday afternoon at City Hall, Clarksville native and renowned illustrator Kitty Harvill and her husband, Christoph Hrdina -- together the Co-Founders of Artists & Biologists United for Nature (ABUN) -- were joined by special guests from Vancouver, Canada, Jeff Whiting, Co-Founder and President of Artists for Conservation (AFC), and AFC Co-Founder Yasaman Whiting.
AFC is the world's leading collective of nature and wildlife artists. Limited to 500 signature members, of which Ms. Harvill is one, AFC spans 30 countries worldwide.
Whiting is in Clarksville this weekend to help celebrate the "Silent Skies" mural at the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center. The mural consists of paintings of each of the world's 678 endangered birds.
The works of 160 artists from 15 countries are featured in the mural. Ms. Harvill has four paintings in the mural.
Whiting will be speaking on Sunday, Oct. 6, at 3 p.m. in the Museum's auditorium.
In June 2023, the Clarksville Arts & Heritage Council, in partnership with Clarksville Parks & Recreation, unveiled a Storybook Trail at Bel-Aire Park on Marie Drive.
The featured book on the Storybook Trail, "Wisdom: The Midway Albatross," written by Darcy Patterson, is a story that follows the life and survival of Wisdom, the oldest bird in the world, whose age has been documented with banding.
The book is illustrated by Ms. Harvill, with the illustrations reproduced in panels along the trail.
Ms. Harvill's husband, Christoph, led the re-creation of Wisdom in paper sculpture folk art, and that artwork is on display at the Clarksville Mayor's office.
More than 150 hours were invested in the work which is made entirely of recycled materials.
Attached photo: In a visit Friday, October 4, 2024, with Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts, right, Clarksville native and renowned illustrator Kitty Harvill, second from left, is joined by her husband at left, artist Christoph Hrdina; and Artists for Conservation (AFC) Co-Founders from Canada, Jeffrey Whiting, second from right, and Yasaman Whiting. Mayor Pitts is shown holding a copy of the 2025 AFC calendar, presented to him by the Whitings. They are standing alongside the "Wisdom: The Midway Albatross" folk art sculpture on display at City Hall, and made entirely of recycled materials.