Add Your Voice To 'Call Of The Wild Mural' At Sedona Wolf Week

The public will have the chance to add their voice to the Call of the Wild Mural during Sedona Wolf Week from March 25-30.

Comprised of wolf silhouettes designed by renowned artist Lauren Strohacker, the mural travels throughout Arizona. As more people participate, more wolf silhouettes are added. After Wolf Week the mural will continue to travel throughout Arizona and the U.S. until it makes its final stop in Washington DC where the goal is to have thousands of wolf silhouettes on display visually voicing support for the voiceless to our legislators. Launched in 2018, this public art installation is open to the public to come and paint, write or draw your message of support for wolves, all wildlife and protecting the Endangered Species Act. Currently, people of all ages have participated, from as young as 3 to age 93.

"We are excited to be launching a collaborative public art installation in the tradition of The Aids Quilt and the International Children's Peace Mural Project Kids Guernica." Says Plan B Co-Founder Betsy Klein, "Art has the power to open hearts and minds, creating space for new understanding and vision."

Plan B is honored to have renowned eco-political artist Lauren Strohacker collaborating on this project. The silhouettes of the "Wolves" that act as the canvas for the Call of the Wild Mural were created by Strohacker whose work emphasizes the non-human in an increasingly human-centric world. Local Sedona artist John Soderberg is helping bring the wolf silhouette to "life" by working with Timon Pratt, Co-Founder of Plan B.

Strohacker's new genre public art practice routinely consults and collaborates with both local and national wildlife conservation organizations. Her work has been featured in New York City's Times Square, along the Arizona border, across buildings in Flagstaff, Arizona, and numerous other locations. A piece of her work was recently put on permanent display in the National Museum of Wildlife Art.

Conceptually, Strohacker's focus on wildlife and public space reflects larger contexts of ecology, conservation, and politics. As Ursula K. Heise writes, "Strohacker's works, with their sophisticated mix of attention to the real world of nature and attention to its many mediations and representations, are a brilliant gateway to these discussions about the futures of nature and humans as well as nonhumans' places in those futures."

The wolf silhouette was chosen in recognition of its unique relationship to man, which is well documented. It is widely acknowledged that humans and wolves developed a close relationship after recognizing themselves in each other while hunting on the trail of big game. Many scientists believe that wolves initiated the relationship, even teaching man how to hunt ensuring their survival.

For 45 years, the Endangered Species Act has been celebrated by conservationists for protecting, in former president Nixon's words, "an irreplaceable part of our natural heritage, threatened wildlife." In Arizona alone, there are 64 listings for endangered species comprising of plants and animals. This nonpartisan Act is supported by the majority of Americans yet is in danger of being weakened.

Wolf silhouettes will serve as "panels" to the mural and will be added as it travels, growing into a meaningful, impactful expression of humanity's need to reconnect to nature.

The mural is one of many events taking place at Sedona Wolf Week and is free and open to the public. To find out more information, view a full schedule of events or to get tickets, please visit www.SedonaWolf week.org or call (559) 425-6191.

Proceeds from Sedona Wolf Week are used to provide transport, rescue, and lifesaving medical care to wolves, wolfdogs, sanctuaries, rescues and other wolf supporting organizations. Current recipients include: Trap Free Montana, Wolves of the Rockies, Apex Protection Project, Keepers of the Wild, Villa Lobos Rescue, Heart of the Wolf, Grey Area, Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project, Wolf People, Oregon Rescue, and numerous individual wolf rescues.

Sedona Wolf Week's Presenting Sponsor is Poco Diablo Resort, an enterprise of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation. Additional sponsors include the Sedona International Film Festival, Studio 5 USA, Sedonacentric, Sedona NOW TV, Goldenstein Gallery, Andrew Bailor State Farm Insurance, and the Sedona Chamber of Commerce. For information about becoming a sponsor for Sedona Wolf Week, for information about the event, how to volunteer and more, please email at b@planb.foundation. For a complete listing of events or to purchase tickets, please visit www.SedonaWolfWeek.org.

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