Lemur Conservation Foundation

ART/SCIENCE IMPERATIVE
STUDENT PILOT PROGRAM - 2009

In January 2009, LCF hosted eleven New College of Florida students at the Myakka City Lemur Reserve for an intensive one-week residential program. Under the guidance of a professional artist, Ana Flores, and Dr. Heidi Harley, a psychology professor at New College, the students, some with a science background and some with an artistic background, examined how the arts and the sciences mesh. By using cross-disciplinary exercises to deepen the experiences of both artists and scientists they explored new ways of looking at the same thing.

The Lemur Conservation Foundation (LCF) is sponsoring this workshop as one part of a larger initiative to explore whether emotional engagement can inspire the public to connect with the environment and motivate them to act on its behalf. One medium for this emotional engagement is art. Art is capable of delivering a sense of urgency about our ailing earth and the fact that we are failing to protect it. Art may be an effective tool to bridge this missing emotional connection to our earth - or more specifically, the intersection of art and science. The students developed individual projects that incorporated the art/science workshop experience at the Reserve into a larger ISP (Independent Study Project) through additional animal/environmental research, or creative work in art, composition, writing or performance.

LCF is extremely grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Royall Victor, III for fully underwriting this very innovative, successful and exciting program.