Press Release - Dec 21, 2011

VINS Presents Artist Douglas Aja

Published: December 21, 2011

Quechee, VT — The Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) is proud to present artist Douglas Aja and his exhibition of African wildlife photography and elephant sculptures. Aja’s photographs and sculptures will be on display at VINS Nature Center throughout the winter. On January 13, Aja will greet members of the public from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at a free artist’s reception.

Douglas Aja began sculpting and casting in bronze in the late 1990s, combining his lifelong interests in African wildlife and art. Though he is interested in all African wildlife, his favorite subject is the African elephant. Many of his elephant sculptures and photographs are of known individuals from Kenya’s Amboseli National Park. These elephants are the most celebrated wild elephants in the world, having been studied by the Amboseli Elephant Research Project since 1972. Aja has sculpted and photographed Echo, the wild elephant matriarch whose family is featured in four BBC documentaries and the book Echo of the Elephants.

Aja is a signature member of Artists for Conservation and an associate member of Society of Animal Artists. Traveling to Africa for the first time in 1978, he took part in a wilderness education program with the National Outdoor Leadership School. There he studied wilderness and mountaineering skills, outdoor leadership, minimum impact camping and Kenya’s culture. He continues to visit East Africa regularly to take photos, gather reference material, and to further his knowledge and understanding of his subjects. Aja often backpacks on Mount Kenya, through Maasailand and has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.

Aja’s exhibit is included in the price of admission to VINS Nature Center and is open to the public seven days a week from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For more information, please e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 802-359-5000. For more information about VINS and the variety of programs and environmental education opportunities offered, please visit www.vinsweb.org.

The Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) is a non-profit, member-supported environmental education, research and avian rehabilitation organization in Quechee, Vermont. VINS’ mission is to motivate individuals and communities to care for the environment with a priority placed on making high-quality, compelling and fun environmental education programs and learning opportunities accessible to more people and communities. Stay connected with VINS through our website at www.vinsweb.org and nature blog at vtnature.blogspot.com.

Press Contacts
Mary Davidson Graham
Vice President for Marketing and Development
Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS)
802.359.5001 x219
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