the street is our gallery

Internationally renowned artist, Sonny, is known for using his creative voice to raise awareness for important environmental issues, with his latest mural shining a light on wildlife corridors as an innovative conservation approach that is bringing hope to the Cape leopard and other endangered wildlife.

“For me, this Cape leopard is a symbol of hope, as people are waking up to new ways of approaching conservation that are less about fencing off wildlife in nature reserves, and more about adapting our world to allow animals and humans to safely and peacefully co-exist. We humans are not above nature, we are part of it.” – Sonny

Sonny’s new mural, painted in Cape Town as part of the Baz-Art International Public Art, depicts a beautiful Cape leopard and responds to the festival theme of ‘100% Sustainable’. Leopards and other wildlife are being forced into ever smaller areas due to human encroachment on their natural territories. This has led to inbreeding, which can have detrimental long-term effects on the species ability to thrive (and even survive), as genetic diversity improves overall health and resilience. Through his beautifully detailed artwork, Sonny opens up a conversation around the development and use of wildlife corridors as a way to link nature reserves to other protected areas as a way to encourage genetic diversity within wildlife populations.

The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the unintended impacts that disrupting natural ecosystems can have on human health. Even more of a reason to work towards stitching together disjointed ecosystems for the sake of wildlife and humans alike!

Photo Credit: Tess Cunliffe

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