The Tennessee Aquarium has announced a special Leap Day preview event for its new exhibit featuring the work of award-winning photographer and National Geographic Explorer Joel Sartore and his National Geographic Photo Ark project.
The exhibition opens to the public on 1 March and to launch it, Sartore and his son — and Photo Ark curator — Cole Sartore will visit Chattanooga on Thursday 29 February. During this event, they will talk about the origins of the Photo Ark and share stories about its creation and the drive to get people to care and act for species from the classically charismatic to the often overlooked.
Some animal names could use a better marketer. For example, names like river chub or least rasbora don’t particularly inspire a desire to protect them or learn more. This is where National Geographic Explorer and award-winning photographer Joel Sartore comes in.
The chub and rasbora are both freshwater fish species that Sartore has photographed at the Tennessee Aquarium as part of the National Geographic Photo Ark project, an effort to record all species that are cared for in zoos, aquariums, and wildlife sanctuaries around the world. Sartore’s 17-year (and counting) endeavour has resulted in the outstanding depiction of over 15,000 species captured in more than 50,000 photos. He predicts it might take a further seven or eight years to finish the archive.
Yet it’s not about ticking each box off a long list. Sartore wants these photographs to inspire wonder and urgency to safeguard all species on Earth. With the images presented on plain black or white backgrounds, Photo Ark visitors have to consider each animal’s characteristics and, hopefully, be moved to protect them.
Inspiring people to care about nature
“The Photo Ark is really my last-ditch, desperate effort to get people to care about nature,” Sartore explains in the introduction to a documentary about the project.
From March 1 to December 31, the Aquarium will display two dozen Photo Ark photos. Sartore’s stunning pictures will be shown on huge banners, graphics, and video projections in the Ocean Journey and River Journey buildings and at the IMAX 3D Theatre.
Sartore’s eight Aquarium visits inspired some of the images on display, like the southern flying squirrel (Glaucomys volans saturates) and the critically endangered four-eyed turtle (Sacalia quadriocellata). Meanwhile, the red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) and African elephant (Loxodonta Africana) are examples of interesting and at-risk animals not in the Aquarium’s living collection. The Photo Ark aspires to level the playing field and instil a sense of awe and importance for all animals, big or small, widely recognised or unknown.
“The black and white backgrounds are a great equalizer,” says Sartore. “It shows the beauty, the grace and power in a mouse. It’s no less important than a polar bear. That tiger is no more important than a tiger beetle. We must, must, must get people to care [about these species]. It’s absolutely critical.”
Presented at such scale, the Photo Ark photos highlight features that would be easy to overlook in motion. Visitors can see a short-tail nurse shark’s (Pseudoginglymostoma brevicaudatum) rough skin and a spotted salamander’s (Ambystoma maculatum) glossy sheen up close and frozen in time.
Photo Ark’s images and messaging fit the Aquarium’s 2024 appeal to “get closer, look deeper and enjoy the ‘wows’ along the way.” Exploring at a slower speed highlights tiny details like a diving penguin’s bubbles, an American alligator’s (Alligator mississippiensis) gold eyes, and native darters and shiners’ gem-like colours.
Discover Photo Ark at Tennessee Aquarium
The Photo Ark exhibition is presented locally by the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation (TDEC) with additional support from First Horizon, Yamaha Rightwaters and Erlanger.
“The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is proud to support this special exhibition,” says Amy Katcher, TDEC’s materials management program manager. “Sartore’s images help people experience nature with fresh eyes, inspiring them to seek ways to protect water and wildlife.”
“Yamaha Rightwaters applauds the Tennessee Aquarium’s commitment to environmental education, particularly as it relates to freshwater,” says Joshua Grier, sustainability program manager for Yamaha Marine. “Viewing Sartore’s wildlife images while immersed in the Aquarium experience reinforces the idea that protecting water and wildlife begins on land.”
Jay Dale, First Horizon market president, Southeast Tennessee, said “First Horizon has been proudly supporting the Aquarium’s mission for more than 30 years. This exciting new exhibition is thrilling to see, but it will also cause Aquarium guests to pause and think about the fragility of nature and our obligation to protect it for future generations.”
Sartore’s presentation will take place 6-6:30 p.m. in the River Journey auditorium, after which audience members can tour the Aquarium. Drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be served before and after the presentation. To register in advance for the evening event please click here.
