8th Annual World Lemur Festival Art Gallery
Lemurs need our help, and artists around the world have taken action to put a spotlight on Madagascar’s endangered primates.
Visual arts convey powerful messages and instill a sense of awe in ways that numbers and statistics alone cannot.
Art is one of the core principles of LCF’s mission statement, and each year we invite artists to participate in the World Lemur Festival Juried Art Exhibition to truly inspire, raise awareness, and take action to protect lemurs and their fragile habitats.
…dedicated to the preservation and conservation of the primates of Madagascar through managed breeding, scientific research, education, and art”
Congratulations to the Winners of the 8th Annual World Lemur Festival’s International Juried Art Contest!
As always, our judges were impressed and delighted by the outstanding entries from around the globe.
This year’s artists came from a dozen countries, including Bangladesh, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Madagascar, the United Arab Emirates, Türkiye, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
After much deliberation, our esteemed judges made the following selections:
Grand Prize
The Lemur Conservation Foundation’s 2025 Artist of the Year, and winner of the $400 prize, is:
“Weevils on Occasion” by Bailey Streefland from Duluth, Minnesota (USA).
Bailey’s mixed media creation depicts a ring tailed lemur holding leaves, fruit, and a giraffe weevil.
She said she began with “traditional children’s watercolor, marker, and colored pencil,” then finished digitally.
The judges were impressed by Bailey’s striking work, as well as with her incorporation of lemur food sources.
United States
Honorable Mentions:
“Junior Explorer” by Susan H. Long of Orlando, Florida (USA)
“Stop! Please” by Taraoo Ranarison of Antananarivo, Madagascar.
Susan’s piece is a pastel painting of a young ring-tailed lemur, whose expressive eyes are alight with curiosity and discovery.
Taraoo’s vivid acrylic and oil painting depicts a red ruffed lemur in peril, facing horrific habitat destruction.
Each of our Honorable Mentions will receive a $150 award.
Craft Art Winner
“A diverse taxon” by Amrei Pfaff of Göttingen, Germany
“This crochet artwork highlights the diversity of lemurs,” Amrei said. “On 30 squares, 27 different species from all 15 genera of lemur are represented.
“Additionally, this project showcases the sexual dichromatism present within the Eulemur taxon by including the male and female phenotype of three Eulemur species.”
The of Craft Art Winner will receive a $150 award.
Germany
Poem Submission
“If I were a lemur” by Özlem Mehder
“This artwork aims to illuminate the challenges lemurs face amid the climate crisis and human-driven environmental destruction. By reaching into their lives, I invite viewers to approach their struggle for survival with empathy. For it is the delicate balance between nature and its inhabitants that can only endure through our dedicated efforts of protection and understanding.” – Özlem Mehder
If I were a lemur, where would my home be?
Among the leaves of the tamarind tree,
Enveloped by the sweet scent of orange,
Cradled by the warmth of the air.
That tree is more than just a shelter;
It is a symbol of renewal and peace,
A refuge that wraps around my soul
And protects me.
But over time, those leaves began to thin.
The sound of the wind has changed;
It is no longer the same.
The footsteps of humans have drawn closer,
And my land, my home, has slowly shrunk.
Heimat is not merely a place to me;
It is a bond I share with myself and with nature.
As my home suffers harm,
The hope I carry within me trembles gently.
And I, the little lemur,
In the fragility of that refuge,
Am in search of that lost home of my own,
Tracing the path of tranquility and belonging.
Many thanks to all the artists who submitted their outstanding creations!
Congratulations to the Winners of the 8th Annual World Lemur Festival’s International Juried Art Contest!
The Lemur Conservation Foundation is proud to announce the winners of the 2025 World Lemur Festival’s International Juried Art Contest!
As always, our judges were impressed and delighted by the outstanding entries from around the globe.
This year’s artists came from a dozen countries, including Bangladesh, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Madagascar, the United Arab Emirates, Türkiye, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
After much deliberation, our esteemed judges made the following selections:
Grand Prize
The Lemur Conservation Foundation’s 2025 Artist of the Year, and winner of the $400 prize, is:
“Weevils on Occasion” by Bailey Streefland from Duluth, Minnesota (USA).
Bailey’s mixed media creation depicts a ring tailed lemur holding leaves, fruit, and a giraffe weevil. She said she began with “traditional children’s watercolor, marker, and colored pencil,” then finished digitally.
The judges were impressed by Bailey’s striking work, as well as with her incorporation of lemur food sources.
United States
Honorable Mentions:
“Junior Explorer” by Susan H. Long of Orlando, Florida (USA)
“Stop! Please” by Taraoo Ranarison of Antananarivo, Madagascar.
Susan’s piece is a pastel painting of a young ring-tailed lemur, whose expressive eyes are alight with curiosity and discovery.
Taraoo’s vivid acrylic and oil painting depicts a red ruffed lemur in peril, facing horrific habitat destruction.
Each of our Honorable Mentions will receive a $150 award.
Germany
Craft Art Winner
“A diverse taxon” by Amrei Pfaff of Göttingen, Germany
“This crochet artwork highlights the diversity of lemurs,” Amrei said. “On 30 squares, 27 different species from all 15 genera of lemur are represented. Additionally, this project showcases the sexual dichromatism present within the Eulemur taxon by including the male and female phenotype of three Eulemur species.”
The of Craft Art Winner will receive a $150 award.
Poem Submission
“This artwork aims to illuminate the challenges lemurs face amid the climate crisis and human-driven environmental destruction. By reaching into their lives, I invite viewers to approach their struggle for survival with empathy. For it is the delicate balance between nature and its inhabitants that can only endure through our dedicated efforts of protection and understanding.” – Özlem Mehder
If I were a lemur by Özlem Mehder
If I were a lemur, where would my home be?
Among the leaves of the tamarind tree,
Enveloped by the sweet scent of orange,
Cradled by the warmth of the air.
That tree is more than just a shelter;
It is a symbol of renewal and peace,
A refuge that wraps around my soul
And protects me.
But over time, those leaves began to thin.
The sound of the wind has changed;
It is no longer the same.
The footsteps of humans have drawn closer,
And my land, my home, has slowly shrunk.
Heimat is not merely a place to me;
It is a bond I share with myself and with nature.
As my home suffers harm,
The hope I carry within me trembles gently.
And I, the little lemur,
In the fragility of that refuge,
Am in search of that lost home of my own,
Tracing the path of tranquility and belonging.
Many thanks to all the artists who submitted their outstanding creations!
Community Favorite!
The winner of the Community Favorite Award, as chosen by a public vote, is Ken Moser’s “Comfort Station.”
Ken’s 16″ x 11″ framed stained glass piece depicts a ring-tailed lemur mother and baby.
The artist, from Florida (USA) will receive a $100 prize.
Congratulations, Ken – and thank you to the hundreds of people who voted for Community Favorite!
Community Favorite!
The winner of the Community Favorite Award, as chosen by a public vote, is Ken Moser’s “Comfort Station.”
Ken’s 16″ x 11″ framed stained glass piece depicts a ring-tailed lemur mother and baby.
The artist, from Florida (USA) will receive a $100 prize.
Congratulations, Ken – and thank you to the hundreds of people who voted for Community Favorite!
We are proud to digitally showcase the following entries during our 8th annual Juried Art Exhibition.
Please enjoy these lemur-themed pieces created by artists around the globe.
Thank you to all the participants who submitted art; together we can protect the primates of Madagascar.
Click (or tap, on your mobile device) any image to view the full sized piece.
Click on the Vote button to vote for your favorite(s). You can place one vote per submission, and vote for as many as you like!
United States
Germany
Meet the Judges
Penelope Bodry-Sanders
Penelope founded LCF in 1996 and served as its executive director until 2010. In 1998, Penelope retired from New York’s American Museum of Natural History after serving over 18 years in a number of capacities, but primarily as education coordinator for the museum’s international education travel program. She continues her AMNH affiliation as a field associate in the Division of Anthropology.
Penelope’s own path to conservation was anything but conventional: she was a Dominican nun and an actress/singer on and off Broadway before she founded LCF. Today she makes paintings that celebrate animals undervalued or loathed, mostly hyenas, lemurs, and invertebrates. Penelope is dedicated to the idea that art cannot change the world but that it can most certainly change the way we think, interpret, and feel about it.
Mark Ormond
Mark’s primary interest and expertise is in contemporary art. With over 25 years of experience in the art world, he has organized dozens of museum exhibitions – and scheduled, coordinated, designed and installed over one hundred others. After completing graduate and undergraduate programs in art history at George Washington University and the University of Pennsylvania, respectively, he held museum positions in the areas of education, curatorial, collections management and administration. He is also a graduate of U.C. Berkeley’s Museum Management Institute.
During his ten-year association with the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, he was appointed Senior Curator & Deputy Director for Collections and Programs. While in Miami, he became the first Curator and then was appointed Director of the Center for the Fine Arts (now the Miami Art Museum). He has also held positions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. As an independent curator, author, lecturer and consultant since 1999, Mark remains engaged in a broad range of contemporary art projects.
Jean Blackburn
Jean was born and grew up on Anna Maria Island, Florida. She received a BA Degree from the University of Florida, an AS degree in Biological Parks Technology from State College of FL, Gainesville and an MFA from the University of Oregon where she was awarded a two year graduate teaching fellowship. She taught fine arts at State College of Florida, Manatee, Ringling College of Art and Design and New College of Florida. She has completed a masters workshop at the Canadian School of Non-toxic Printmaking in Alberta and at The Edinburgh Institute of Printmaking in Scotland.
She was certified by the University of Florida as a Master Gardener and Master Naturalist and served on governing boards of Sarasota’s Environmentally Sensitive Lands Oversight Council, Sea to Shore Alliance and The Friends of Myakka River State Park. Her early adult years were spent sailing and painting throughout the Caribbean, Bahamas and Central America. A small farm in Old Myakka and a cottage on Longboat Key is where she now gardens, paints and lives with her family.
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