Artist creates works to help protect African wildlife

Katherine Hughes’ artworks will support international conservation charity Space for Giants

One of Katherine Hughes’ new pieces of art (Katherine Hughes)

Acclaimed artist Katherine Hughes has created a series of new paintings of wildlife to help protect Africa’s remaining natural ecosystems and the animals they contain.

The works, which include an elephant and a secretary bird, will be unveiled at a private art viewing at London’s ICA Gallery on 8th September. Donations from the opening night of the exhibition and proceeds from their sale of works will go to international conservation charity Space for Giants.

From the land to the sea, Africa is home to kingdoms of biodiversity inhabited by some of the planet’s most endangered species. Katherine, who grew up in Tanzania, says; “we share the world with nature, and I want to do everything I can to create as much awareness of the urgent need to protect wildlife to ensure a healthy planet for us all.

“My greatest influence is the natural beauty and wildlife of Tanzania. I’m lucky enough to have spent time growing up in some of the most remote and wild environments imaginable to man. Seeing the troubling changes that have happened to the natural world, I want to work with charities to help conservation projects.”

(Katherine Hughes)

Between 2009 and 2015 more than 60% of Tanzania’s elephant population was massacred by ivory poachers.

Since then, years of committed conservation work by the government and NGOs has helped Tanzania halt the worst of the poaching. Elephant numbers have risen from 43,000 in 2014 to 60,000 in 2019.

Space for Giants works in Tanzania to increase wildlife crime conviction rates and strengthen the protection of elephants and other species, while simultaneously ensuring that the natural world brings major social and economic value to local communities and national governments.

Before creating these new art works Katherine visited Kenya to experience Space for Giants’ work first hand at Loisaba wildlife conservancy.

Katherine, 28, says “I went behind the scenes and joined the anti poaching unit to learn how we can help. As elephants and humans coexist in ever more constrained spaces, the need to protect both has never been more urgent.

“Elephants are my favourite animal, and seeing the corridors that Space for Giants has created to help keep them from harm was incredible. I wish I’d started trying to raise awareness earlier but I’m glad it’s happening now, I want to do something good with my art.”

Katherine is just one of a huge new collection of voices using their platforms to take action on the climate and biodiversity crisis.

The 20 new pieces of art she has created feature bright, striking colours, using a heavy impasto technique to convey the truly untamed Africa.

“I go back to Tanzania at least once a year,” says Katherine. “It’s still home! I miss being in the bush, being out in nature. Growing up we had Genet cats on our roof, and would often see snakes, monkeys and an infinite variety of birds sitting on the veranda at home. I don’t take the natural world for granted and I hope to do as much as possible to raise awareness and raise funds to support the protection of wild spaces and the animals they contain.”

See Untamed at a private art viewing at London’s ICA Gallery on 8th September. Learn more about Katherine’s work at Katherinehughes.art and @katherinehughesartist

For more information visit Spaceforgiants.org