cameron + whitney: Penguins on the March

"Woodland Park Zoo and Greenwood’s shared creative work space The Greenwood Collective launch Penguins on the March at two corresponding exhibits on June 12th starting at the base of the Space Needle in the morning and closing at The Greenwood Collective in Greenwood-Phinney.

Sixty-two Seattle artists of all ages and experience levels painted, embellished and decorated fabricated penguins as a community celebration of art and wildlife conservation, inspired by Woodland Park Zoo’s brand new Humboldt penguin exhibit, which opened in May.

After its June 12th launch, Penguins on the March will begin migrating by June 15th into Ballard, Fremont and Greenwood-Phinney, where you will find individual penguins prominently featured in front of neighborhood businesses in July, August and September.

After migrating through Seattle, the penguins will be auctioned off to benefit Woodland Park Zoo’s field conservation program. Woodland Park Zoo supports 38 wildlife conservation projects in 50 countries worldwide, including the Humboldt Penguin Conservation Center at Punta San Juan."

The project is not only for a wonderful cause, but it was absolutely fun to participate in. I was privileged to be one of the artists selected to decorate a penguin and I'm glad I did! I was about to pass up on the opportunity because the due date for it landed on the same time as both of my finals, plus I had a 15 page independent study to do as well. But, my mom talked me into it and she helped out a whooooole lot to make sure it got done on time. I wasn't able to go to the launch event at the Space Needle, but from what I hear, my penguin was a hit with everyone else. I'm hoping it goes in the private auction so that it can a good amount of money towards the zoo's conservation program! Pictures of all of the decorated penguins can be found here.