Heather McMordie, the exhibition’s curator and an adjunct lecturer in visual arts at Brown, said the art on view includes fabric and ceramic sculptures, paintings, photographs and mixed-media pieces made from found glass, plants and insects. Many come from Indigenous artists and incorporate those artists’ perspectives about land stewardship.

Among the pieces is “Solastalgia” by Sophy Tuttle, a three-dimensional wall of more than 100 boxes with animals inside, created as a memorial to the estimated 150 to 200 species that go extinct every day across the globe; “Pangolin Plush” by Adam Moreno, which uses fabrics that represent different Indigenous groups to form the shape of a ground pangolin; and “Basement Buds” by Eleanor Q. C. Olson, an oil painting that depicts a thriving ecosystem of insects living in the basement of a Northeastern American home.  

Field said the symposium will showcase the diverse scholarship of a group of faculty from every corner of the Brown campus whose work somehow addresses animals. According to Field, the group has convened regular meetings for years to hold book discussions, informal research presentations and more. 

“We come from a wild variety of departments — literature, science, history, sociology, philosophy, physics,” Field said. “At some point, we have all done work that looks at human-animal relationships in a way that centers the animal. Given the relevance with Creature Conserve’s exhibition, I thought, ‘This is a great opportunity to feature this group’s diverse, compelling work.’”

An April 22 conversation will bring together experts for a discussion on humans’ historical and current relationship with horses. Later that day, Bathsheba Demuth, an assistant professor of history and environment and society at Brown, will give a talk on how climate change and the Soviet Union’s rise and fall radically changed the lives of reindeer in Siberia’s Chukchi Peninsula. And on April 23, a discussion will feature writer, an illustrator and Creature Conserve Founder Dr. Lucy Spelman.

Field said she hopes exhibit visitors and symposium attendees will walk away from the experience understanding the value of cross-disciplinary conversations. When scientists, writers and artists work together, she said, their different approaches and insights can help untangle and solve complex problems. 

“Art can think through the toughest questions, because artists aren’t bound by rules or conventions or preconceptions,” Field said. “Whether the subject is public health or history or conservation, when art gets involved, it tends to alchemize a conversation and reveal valuable new perspectives.”

The “Re-Examining Conversation” exhibition is on view throughout the entire Granoff Center for the Creative Arts through Friday, June 10. It includes an online audio tour with artist statements and more information about each piece. A free, public reception will take place at the Granoff Center on Thursday, April 21, at 5:30 p.m. 

The symposium kicks off on Thursday, April 21, and concludes at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 23. A full schedule is available on the exhibition and symposium website.  

The exhibition and symposium are free and open to the public.