COMMUNITY // ACTIVISM
Picturing Change
Animal Advocacy through Art
Photographers act on their vision of a compassionate and sustainable world
“My love for animals touches everything I
do,” says APA Award-winning photographer
Natalie Ford, who recently organized a one-
night exhibit of nine distinguished fine-art pho-
tographers committed to compassion. The Lois
Lambert Gallery, in Santa Monica’s Bergamot
(Station) arts center, donated its space for an
evening designed to raise awareness and com-
passion for animals and their place in the world
and, specifically, to raise funds for START (Shel-
ter Transport Animal Rescue Team).
START is a nonprofit that rescues dogs and
cats from high-kill shelters in California and
finds placement in homes in the Pacific North-
west. It has also funded more than 5,500 spay/
neuter surgeries for low-income families, and
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“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its
animals are treated.” — Mahatma Gandhi
rescues some animals from Mexico and from
South Korea, where the animals are tortured
as part of a process that is said to improve
their flavor.
“This is actually the fifth fine-art photo show
I have curated,” says Ford. “But the first group
show that has included all compassionate pho-
tographers.” To Ford, there is a spirituality and
sacredness to photography itself; the captured
energy of a moment that passes between the
artist and the subject and connects to the viewer.
“The deep truths of photographic images are
raw and pure,” she says.
Ford and the other photographers at this
exhibit join a long tradition of artists and
celebrities who have used their talents andvoices to encourage the ethical treatment of
animals and to point a wider lens on its impli-
cations for global health, spirituality, and the
environment.
Most of the photographers at this exhibit
see animal treatment as part of a larger story.
“Animal agriculture is a leading cause of
climate change, far beyond all transportation
combined,” explains Jane Velez-Mitchell,
editor of the nonprofit digital animal rights and
lifestyle news outlet, JaneUnchained.com. “That
[impact] was documented years ago by the
United Nations. We are literally mowing down
the planet to grow crops. Not to feed people,
but to feed those animals.... Our wild areas
are being decimated. And [a recent New YorkPHOTOS BY NATALIE FORD,
PART OF HER SACRED-ART
SERIES, FACES OF PEACE:
THE BUDDHA—PHOTOS OF
BUDDHA SHE HAS TAKEN
ALL OVER THE WORLD.MOUNTAIN GORILLA, VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK,
RWANDA. PHOTO BY CINDY LANDON.