The Art and Nature News
Your Monthly Field Guide to RTPI
May 2024
Breaking News
Exhibition Updates
Upcoming Programs and Events
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RTPI's Deep Roots in our Community
Roger Tory Peterson was born and raised in Jamestown, NY. He lived with his family at 16 Bowen Street, less than a five-minute drive from the Roger Tory Peterson Institute.
We recently celebrated our deep roots in the community by planting a tree and rededicating an historic marker in front of the Peterson family home.
The idea for this project emerged from last year's Art that Matters to the Planet: Interconnectivity. The artwork featured in this exhibition explored the ways trees communicate, nurture and support each other through their extensive roots systems -- and what a perfect metaphor this is for the human community, and the myriad ways we are tied to one another.
Which is why RTPI was honored to plant trees throughout Roger's old neighborhood in partnership with the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation, and the City of Jamestown Park and Recreation Department. Special thanks to Jamestown Mayor, Kimberly Ecklund, for the proclamation celebrating the day.
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Game on -- the Bentley Preserve Birding Challenge
Kevin Ebi has traveled the world to share with us his magnificent, large-scale photographs of natural beauty, currently being exhibited at RTPI. Among the iconic landscapes Ebi has photographed is a natural area wonder right here in our own backyard: the Bentley Preserve, owned and managed by the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy.
In 1933, a year before he published his landmark field guide, a young Roger Tory Peterson mapped all the songbird nests on the property.
RTPI and CWC invite you to follow in Roger's footsteps. First, visit RTPI to be inspired by Ebi's photograph of the Bentley Preserve. Then grab your Bentley Preserve Birding Challenge checklist, which lists all the birds found at the site, according to e-Bird. Check all the birds you see and hear, then return to completed checklist to RTPI. On Saturday, June 22, we'll announce the winner -- the individual who finds the most birds at the preserve.
(Kevin Ebi, Contrasting Lines, Bentley Sanctuary, Ellicott, New York, 2023.)
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Best Happy Hour in all of WNY!
Art After 5 returns Friday, May 31, 5:30 to 7:30 pm. Join us for an evening of live music, food and drink, surrounded by Art that Matters to the Planet.
Back by popular demand, Kody & Herren are a dynamic duo from Springville, NY. They are multi-instrumentalists, performing on guitar, violin, harmonica, mandolin, and more. They describe themselves as two adventure seekers "who love writing and performing music, discovering new landscapes and natural beauty."
CLICK HERE to buy your tickets (buying tix in advance saves you a couple bucks!)
The First Beer is on Southern Tier Brewing Company! RTPI is honored to continue our partnership with Southern Tier Brewery for all Art After 5 programs.
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Amy Tan's Backyard BIrds
June 8 - August 25
RTPI is honored to be the only museum to host an exhibition of Amy Tan's original sketches and journals, featured in her new book, The Backyard Bird Chronicles.
The exhibition will explore Tan’s sense of discovery through the acts of observation and drawing, her imagination about the stories of her avian friends, and her personal insights about the important roles of both art and birds in her life.
Amy Tan is the author of The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God’s Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, The Bonesetter’s Daughter, Saving Fish from Drowning, and The Valley of Amazement, all New York Times bestsellers.
(Amy Tan, Fledgling Bluebird and Mom, 2020, mixed media, © Amy Tan)
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Amy Tan and John Muir Laws via Zoom at RTPI
Tuesday, June 7, 12 pm, EDT
Observation as Inspiration: The Value of Nature Journaling
The online workshop is free of charge, but registration is required. For more information and to register, CLICK HERE.
Amy Tan in Person at RTPI
Sunday, August 4, 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Tan will join us in person at RTPI for a two-part program: 1) Amy will lead a private tour of her exhibited sketches and journals, followed by 2) a conversation led by RTPI Curator, Maria Ferguson.
Reservations are required for the in-person program. For more information and to buy your tickets, CLICK HERE.
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Celebrating 90 years of Peterson's A Field Guide to the Birds
On view until
March 9, 2025
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Guided Bird Walks
RTPI Board Member Bill Hopple highly recommends, Birdwatcher, The Life of Roger Tory Peterson.
If you'd like to follow in Roger's birdwatcher footsteps, we invite you to join us for guided bird walks -- every Wednesday at 9 am -- led by Craig Thompson, a 33-year Environmental Educator for the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
This year, we are inaugurating a series of additional guided bird walks, led by Devin Banning and Katelyn Davis, co-founders of the Chautauqua-Warren Birding Association. Their Spring Migration Bird Walk is scheduled for Saturday, May 25 at 8 am.
For more info and to register, CLICK HERE.
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Plan Your Visit Today
For a Full Schedule of Exhibitions and Programs, Please Visit our Website at RTPI.ORG
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