Clarksville, TN – Many artists find ways to give back to their community, but our community is lucky enough to be home to an artist who gives back on a global scale. Kitty Harvill is an artist who paints with a purpose, and that purpose has an impact worldwide.
Kitty Harvill has deep roots in Clarksville but has also made her mark across the continents. Once the owner of a successful commercial art firm in Little Rock, Arkansas, Kitty created everything from portraits to children’s book illustrations.
Once she moved to Brazil, however, her focus changed. Her husband, Christoph Hrdina, encouraged her to give back to nature while contributing to the community by providing contacts within the wildlife conservancy field. While many are familiar with the Amazon rainforest, not everyone realizes that the Atlantic rainforest of Brazil is often called “the lungs of the world.” This important ecosystem was the inspiration for purposeful art that stretches beyond imagination.
In 2014, Kitty created a Facebook group called “52 Weeks of Nature Painting Challenge”. Seven people participated in the first week, using Kitty’s photography as their inspiration. Growing from there, each week the group focused their skills on a different animal.
Finding that a deep connection grew from the artists and created awareness, two years later, as the second challenge wound down, Kitty knew that the concept was too important to stop there. Soon after, Kitty and Christoph founded ABUN. According to their website, “Artists and Biologists Unite For Nature is a collection of nature and wildlife artists, serving the conservation community with original images for their use in promoting awareness. Their focus is the conservation of endangered species and their respective habitats.”
Continuously growing, ABUN has become a landmark organization for biologists and artists alike. Helping conservations and researchers around the globe in many ways, the participating artists share their work free of charge. Many times, artwork is used in materials for awareness, fundraising efforts, and educational materials.
Kitty shared that an upcoming project features snow leopards in collaboration with a conservancy in Mongolia. The goal will be to promote awareness and encourage the community to live in harmony with snow leopards. This is similar to a previous project in South Africa, where local farmers were provided educational materials to help them view leopards as endangered animals and not just predatory nuisances that should be killed.
Projects don’t always focus on sharing a habitat. Sometimes, they focus on abuse and mistreatment of animals. A recent focus was the meerkats of Africa. Artwork featuring meerkats was created and shared to make people aware that these animals are frequently trafficked and sold. This harkens back to a 2016 project entitled “I Am Not Your Toy,” which shared the plight of the slow loris of Sumatra, a species of primate that are frequently trafficked, tortured, and sold as pets.
Kitty remarks that ABUN now features artists on every continent, young and old, amateur and professional. There is no money involved in ABUN whatsoever. The creation of these works is strictly for the purpose of giving. The ABUN family is closely supportive of one another, with no criticism. They are bound through their connection of love for one another and for the animals and habitats that matter around the world.
Aside from her work with ABUN, Kitty is active in many professional groups. In 2022, one of these groups, the AFC (Artists for Conservation), recognized her as an internationally renowned artist and conservation leader. She was bestowed with their top honor: the Simon Combes Conservation Artist Award. “AFC bestows the award annually to individuals for exemplifying the achievements and dedication of the award’s namesake,” according to the AFC website.
In July 2023, Kitty was invited to be one of four featured artists on the AFC 25th Annual Alaskan Cruise. Enjoying the camaraderie and fellowship with other artists on the cruise was a wonderful experience, allowing her the opportunity to paint the Hubbard Glacier. Kitty jokes that painting on a moving ship was quite the experience!
A simple question, “What can I do?” is the guiding principle that leads to a connection that impacts the whole globe. Kitty joyfully paints and connects with others around the world and within our own community with this simple question. She was painting with a purpose.
For more information, visit:
www.abun4nature.org
https://kitty-harvill.pixels.com/
