Pinedale author launches funding for Portraits of Pastoralism photo art exhibit via USA Projects
This educational exhibit will allow the public to see the faces of the pastoralists and their animals, from cattle and sheep producers on the public rangelands in the American West, to goat herders in Spain, and women milking their yaks in Mongolia. It will help the public to understand that a cowboy on horseback in Wyoming is conducting the same activity as the Lesotho cattle boy, and the same holds true for various people and cultures throughout the globe. The exhibit will help the American public understand the vital importance of these seasonal movements of people and livestock, and the threats to continuing this practice. Urbigkit’s goal is to promote public support for maintaining this sustainable use of natural resources, while recognizing and treasuring the human value of a close association with the land. This exhibit is international in scope, and places the livestock grazing industry of the western United States in the appropriate context of its role of continuing practices and traditions that have taken place for thousands of years, and throughout the globe.
Learn more about Urbigkit’s project, watch her project video, and contribute to her project online here.
The deadline for contributions to this project is March 20.
The first microphilanthropy site dedicated exclusively to accomplished artists working in the United States, USA Projects is a unique online community where anyone can discover original projects from some of today’s most innovative artists and make tax-deductible donations to support their work. With a funding success rate of over 75%, USA Projects has helped accomplished artists from thirty states realize their artistic projects with support from more than 14,000 unique donors.
MongolianYak: The perils of nature
Adoption of Mongolia’s new constitution in 1992 brought the end of state- owned farms of the socialist era, and freedom to inhabitants of this country that boasts the lowest human population density of any in the world. The winter of 2009/2010 brought the “white death” – a drought followed by heavy snows and frigid temperatures (called “dzud” in Mongolian) for an extended period of time. More than 8 million head of livestock perished – 20 percent of the nation’s livestock herds. Since Mongolia’s pastoralists live a subsistence lifestyle, the dzud created a humanitarian crisis, with relief organizations stepping in to ensure food distribution to those affected. Yaks are well suited for surviving the severe conditions associated with Mongolia’s winters. Livestock in this country provide for nearly all needs of pastoral families: milk and meat; cashmere and other fibers for clothing; dung provides fuels for fires; and the animals provide for draught and transportation as well. More than 80 percent of Mongolia’s landmass is used for livestock grazing, a practice at least 1,000 years old in this region.
Angel: Origin of all good
Angel is a pastoralist in the Rhodopo Mountains of Bulgaria. He carved this shepherd’s crook with a symbolic representation of his beliefs. Included are a ram’s head, a wolf, and a serpent. The serpent represents the fact that all good comes from the earth, and the other symbols – the wolf and the ram – represent the interconnectedness of nature. In the last few decades, Europe has experienced an overall agricultural decline, with land abandonment and reforestation of formerly cultivated and grazed range. Government agencies and nongovernmental interests are now working to reverse this trend. Many European countries have adopted programs targeting agrotourism rather than ecotourism, focusing on the cultural landscape rather than a “wild” landscape to attract visitors. European governments are also focused on how much of each nation’s food supply is generated within its own borders, promoting national self- sufficiency and use of local resources.
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